Lost In The Whispers
by toomanyfandomssolittletime
Summary: Still mourning the loss of the farm, Hannah Connor and the rest of her group try to find a safe haven. Meanwhile, her Aunt Willow tries to navigate this new world after the loss of her husband. With walkers around every corner, and new enemies rising, Hannah and Will must rely on their friends and family not only to survive but to start living. SEQUEL TO BREAKING SILENCE! *HIATUS*
1. Chapter 1

**IF YOU HAVE NOT READ BREAKING SILENCE, TURN BACK NOW!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.**

 _Hannah woke up that morning to find herself back at home. She could see the Harry Potter posters hanging proudly on the wall. There was a loud beeping coming from her bedside table. She groaned before smacking her alarm clock. Hannah groaned, flopping back in bed._

" _Time to get up, sweetheart." Hannah threw her pillow on top of her head. She really didn't want to get up. She heard her bedroom door open. "Hannah, you don't wanna miss your first day of middle school."_

 _Hannah groaned once more and got out of bed. She looked over to see her mom smiling at her. She was on call tonight, which meant that it was a father-daughter night. Hannah got up and put on a pair of blue jeans and a dark blue Grand Ole Opry shirt she got when her family went to visit her Aunt Willow over the summer. Dad had said that most of the new stuff was garbage, but the Opry still held value because of all the country icons that played there. She couldn_ _'t remember who they'd seen perform that night but that didn't matter. She then went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and threw her curly hair up into a pony-tail._

 _She walked downstairs to see her parents in the kitchen. She went and took her seat on a stool by the island. There was already a plate of pancakes, bacon, and eggs placed in front of her. Dad was in front of the stove, flipping another pancake. He was wearing a pair of jeans along with his dark blue uniform shirt from the garage. Mom had a cup of coffee in her hand and a plate of food in front of her. They were happy. Hannah smiled as she looked down at the food in front of her. Her mouth started watering at the delicious smell of bacon. Hannah gobbled it all down and drank her glass of milk._

" _Oh, look at the time, Hannah, Lori and Carl will be here any minute to take you to school. Daryl, remember we promised to pick the kids up in the afternoon," her mom spoke up. "I gotta get to the hospital. I'll be back in the mornin'." Her mom got up from the table quickly kissing her dad's lips. "I love you." Hannah made fake gagging noises. Her dad let out a laugh while her mom came and kissed her hair. "And I love you too."_

" _See y'all in the mornin'. Have a good first day, tell me all about it," her mom smiled and with that she was out of the door._

 _Her dad looked at her and handed her a paper bag with her lunch. The doorbell rang, meaning Lori and Carl were here._

" _Bye dad!" Hannah waved. She headed down the hallway, which was full of their pictures. In one, there was her mom and dad on their wedding day. Hannah had been two years old at the time. There were pictures of Hannah and her dad at her tenth birthday in front of a cake. One of the three of them when they went on vacation to Disney World. There was one from when her family and Carl's family went camping together and her dad took them fishing. Hannah was standing proudly with a long fish she'd managed to catch. Her favourite, though, was the picture from when her parents had first started dating and he had his arms wrapped around her waist as her mom looked like she was laughing._

" _Hang on," her dad called out. "You're forgettin' somethin'." He came over and she wrapped her arms around him. Her dad bent down slightly and kissed her forehead. "Love ya, kid."_

" _Love you too Dad. I'll see you after school," she told him._

" _Mac 'n Cheese for dinner?" He asked._

" _Of course," she smiled. The door bell rang again. "I gotta go." And with that she ran out the door._

Hannah woke with a start. She was lying on the hardwood floors of the house they were currently squatting in, wrapped in an itchy but warm blanket. It had been about six weeks since the farm. Every night, Hannah had this same dream. She dreamt of another life. One where Daryl and her mom had never broken up, where they'd stayed together and gotten married. In this life, Hannah had still gotten sick, but Daryl had been there to catch it in time so Hannah wasn't deaf. In this life, they lived in King County and her mom had fulfilled her dream of becoming a doctor. Daryl was a mechanic at the garage and was always able to pick Hannah up from school. In this life, they were happy, and they were a real family. She was just a normal kid. There were no walkers. No one she loved died in gruesome ways. More importantly, in this world, there had never been a Shane. Her mom was alive, safe, and happy.

She preferred that reality much more to this one. In this one, Hannah hadn't spoken since the highway. She couldn't bring herself to do it. For about two weeks, all Hannah wanted to do was drop down to the ground and cry. She never did though, at least not when the group could see her. Hannah would cry at night, quietly whimpering under her itchy blanket. By week three, the tears had dried up but she still felt that gaping hole in her heart. She numbness paralyzed her to the point where all she did was keep breathing. Maggie and Lori had to shove food down her throat, though most of the time she thew it back up when no one was looking. Now, Hannah wasn't exactly sure, the same emptiness still weighed on her. She was hollow, numb. Losing her mom, it shattered her. Hannah was afraid to speak again. Recently, she'd begun signing again. Not that it made much of a difference, seeing as no one knew what she was saying.

Hannah was broken. Until now, she'd always thought that being broken meant that something was physically wrong with her. Until Shane stabbed her mother and left her to die in those woods, she didn't believe that she could break like this. She felt hollow, numb. That's what scared her the most. It felt as though part of her had died too.

She couldn't sleep anymore, instead basked in the few minutes of silence she actually got. At night, she would take out her implant out, letting herself be deaf again. She knew the others weren't particularly fond of this idea, in case they needed to run in the middle of the night, but Hannah didn't care. She found solace in the silence. It was the only time where she could think. These were the moments where she started to dream of a better life. She knew it wouldn't change anything, that regardless of how much she dreamt her mom would still be dead and she would still be broken.

* * *

Daryl was looking over at his daughter. He could tell that she was awake. Six weeks into being a single dad and he was already failing. Hershel and Rick kept telling him to give her some time but how much? He could see some slow changes in her but not enough. Bright side, she'd stopped throwing up her food when she thought no one was looking. Still, she hadn't spoken. She signed but no one knew what she was saying. _Charlie, why'd you have to go?_ He couldn't do this without her. She thought he could, but she was wrong. Now, all Daryl felt was a void.

He got up and went to relieve Rick who was on watch. Ever since that night in the ruins, Daryl noticed a change in the man. He hardly slept anymore and could hardly look at Lori. It was revealed to the group not too long ago about Lori's affair with Shane. Things were looking grim. They were beaten down by what happened on the farm. Daryl didn't know how much more they could lose.

"Been quiet?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah. You get any sleep?" Rick asked turning towards him.

"A couple of hours," Daryl lied. In truth, he got sleep from time to time but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Charlie dying in his arms over and over. Sometimes she came back as a walker, other times she was just dead.

Rick scoffed. "Bullshit. I saw you still awake an hour ago. Get Glenn to cover for you and get some sleep."

"I can do it," Daryl countered.

"When's the last time you slept?" Rick asked.

"Last night," Daryl answered.

"For how long?"

"Four hours," he lied. In reality he'd gotten maybe two.

"Uh-huh. Look, I know things ain't been easy for you since Char…"

"I'm fine," Daryl snapped. He hated when the group looked at him with pity, like they knew how he felt.

"No, you're not. You went from not having a daughter to being a single dad. And I know things with Hannah haven't been…"

"She ain't talkin'. I can't make her talk," he grunted.

"Doesn't mean it's not hard. Look, Daryl, go back inside and get Glenn. Get some sleep. You're no good to anyone exhausted," Rick ordered. Begrudgingly, Daryl agreed and walked back in the house.

Glenn covered for him on watch as Daryl took his spot back on the floor. He closed his eyes and tried his best to sleep. The nightmares all started the same way, the moment he closed his eyes, he could see her surrounded by trees. This time it was different, Daryl saw Shane standing above Charlotte holding a knife. Usually, by the time he got there, she was already stabbed.

" _CHARLIE!" His cry was masked by her screaming. He tried to run towards her as Shane drove his knife into her. "NO!"_

 _The scene shifted as he got closer. Shane had vanished, now Charlie was pinned under Randall_ _'s body. He was moaning, his teeth snapping hungrily. Daryl kept running towards her, but the roots in the ground reached up and wrapped around his legs. Daryl crashed to the hard forest ground. He didn't have his bow with him. He was next to useless in this._

" _CHARLIE!" He screamed once more. He was clawing at the roots, desperately trying to free himself. The panic set in. He had to save her. "CHARLIE RUN!" She kept struggling._

" _DARYL!" She called. "DARYL HELP ME!" He fought against the roots, screaming at her to get away. That was when he saw Randall's teeth sinking in to Charlie's neck. She let out a scream in agony. The roots let go of Daryl's legs. He got up ran over._

 _There was so much blood when he got there. Charlie wasn_ _'t breathing. He dropped to his knees and cradled her in his arms. No, she couldn't be dead. Not again. He felt his heart tighten in his chest._

" _I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm sorry."_

" _Why didn't you save me, Daryl?" Charlie's voice rang in his ears. He looked to see her eyes still clouded. "You promised me you'd keep me safe."_

" _Charlie, I'm sorry," he repeated._

" _Why, Daryl?"_

" _I'm sorry," he apologized once more. He stood up, leaving Charlie's body on the ground._

" _Dad?" Daryl turned around to see Hannah standing there, looking at the scene in horror. "You promised! You promised you'd bring her back! You promised!"_

" _I know," his voice cracked. His eyes widened in horror as Charlie's body had somehow moved and was standing behind Hannah. She eyed the little girl hungrily. "Hannah, RUN!"_

 _Hannah didn_ _'t move, instead she just stared at him confused. Daryl started to run over, only the roots wrapped themselves around his legs, sending him soaring to the ground once more. He dug into the ground, trying to break away from the roots._

" _HANNAH!" His cry was drowned out by Hannah screaming as Charlie's teeth sank into her neck. Red gushed out as the little girl fell to the ground, still screaming. Daryl furiously clawed at the roots around his ankles trying to pull himself towards his daughter. No, no, no, no! Not Hannah. He couldn't lose her too. "Hannah? No."_

" _Damn, lil' brother, can't do anything right," Merle's voice rang. The roots let go of his ankles and he crawled over to Hannah's lifeless body. "Your lil girl's gone now, all cause of you. You break everythin' you touch."_

" _Shut up," Daryl whimpered._

" _Our dumbass of a dad, your baby mama… Hell, even me. And you're gonna lose the kid too," his brother taunted._

" _Fuck you!" Daryl snapped._

" _Hoo-hoo struck a nerve there, did I?" Merle egged on. Daryl felt his rage boil, still holding Hannah's body. "See lil' brother, you can't keep her safe. She and every one else in that pansy-assed group o' yours is gonna die. And there ain't a damn thing you can do."_

" _SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He roared. A gun appeared in front of him and in his rage, Daryl picked it up and pulled the trigger without a second thought._

 _Daryl looked over to see that where his brother should have been standing, there was an empty spot. Hannah was gone too, as was Charlie. He was alone. Everyone he cared about was gone. The crippling despair filled every inch of him. He didn_ _'t want to be alone. He eyed the gun in his hands and decided. He wasn't going to be alone anymore._

Daryl's eyes snapped open to see Carol giving him a curious stare. The sun seemed to be like it was just beginning to rise. Out of the window, he could see the the pink streaks in the sky. He must've gotten at least a few hours of sleep. He ignored Carol's stare and got up. Hannah looked as though she'd fallen back asleep. _Good,_ he told himself, _at least one of us is getting rest._

He walked over to the kitchen where Beth and Lori were making breakfast. They'd hit a few of the houses around and managed to find a very minimal amount of food. Daryl figured now would be as good a time as any to go hunting. He walked back through the living room and grabbed his bow.

"Where you off to?" Rick asked.

"Gonna see what I can hunt," Daryl told him, starting to walk out of the house. "Be back in a few hours."

"Hey," Rick called after him. "You shouldn't be goin' alone."

"Told you once, and I'll tell you again, I'm better on my own," he snapped before heading towards the nearby woods.

Daryl spent maybe about two hours hunting. There wasn't much but he did manage to catch a few squirrels. There were maybe two or three walkers here and there, but Daryl managed to dispatch them with no trouble. He figured he had maybe about an hour and a half before Rick and the rest of the group would get worried. He didn't want to head back right away, so instead he sat in the dirt and leaned back on a tree. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes. He opened the pack and found there were only a few left. Over the last few weeks, he'd started smoking a lot more than he had on the farm. But he knew the reason why. Daryl put the cigarette to his lips and lit it.

" _You know those things'll kill ya."_ Every time he lit one up, Daryl heard Charlie's voice berating him. It was crazy, but he was desperate for it. It never lessened the pain, but for just a split second, he smiled hearing her say those words.

He sat at the base of the tree trunk for just a few minutes more. The smoke dangled from his lips. He tried to collect himself, figure out what to do next. He was better on his own. Daryl hated being alone, but he knew it would be a hell of a lot easier. A part of him wished he'd just left the group after Merle went missing. Or kept his distance from them, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. God it hurt. It hurt so bad, it felt like he couldn't breath. He hated Charlie for making him feel this way. He hated her for being gone. For leaving him all alone with a kid he was going to fail. He hadn't known how to be a dad when Charlie was around, he sure as shit didn't know how to do it now that he was alone. He couldn't get her to talk, let alone be her dad. He needed Charlie. He couldn't do this without her. More importantly, he didn't want to.

He took the burning cigarette and crushed it on his hand. He stared at it numbly, feeling only the burning on his skin. It was a desperate attempt to shift the pain in his chest to somewhere else. It hadn't worked. He missed her. He wanted her back. _Please Charlie, don't make me do this alone._

Daryl made his way back to the small neighbourhood. Despite it's size, the house on the street were rather large. Never in his whole life did Daryl imagine himself staying in a place like this. The kind of house with a giant double garage and a pool in the back. The kind of house rich people lived in, the ones that drove big Escalades. The large house came in sight as he rounded the corner. T-Dog was on watch now. Daryl walked up the porch steps and showed the other man how little he'd caught.

"Damn," T-Dog sighed. Daryl merely grunted in response before heading inside.

Hannah was sitting on the couch pretending to read a book. He knew her patterns by now. Carl sat next to her with a different book in hand. Daryl had to give it to him, Carl never gave up on Hannah. Most kids would've by now, but there he was, trying. He walked passed them, casting another look at his daughter, before going to the kitchen. Rick stood over a map with Hershel, Glenn, and Maggie. Daryl put the squirrels on the counter.

"Success?" Rick asked.

"Game's runnin' low out there," Daryl responded.

"Yeah, been thinkin' maybe it's time to move on," he added. "Head up north towards Clarksville. Haven't been there yet." They were a few miles out of Eastman now. Normally, it would only take about three and a half hours but with the taking of backroads and the blocks it would probably take much longer.

"That's a long ways away," Hershel reasoned.

"I know, but with the winter on it's way, it'll be better to head up north. Mountains, cold, might slow 'em down," Rick replied. Daryl nodded.

"When do we leave?" He asked.

"We'll give it a day, time to get whatever supplies we can ready," he devised. "Glenn, you and Maggie…" He was cut off by Beth running in the room.

"Walkers!" She breathed. "Herd!"

"Fuck!" Rick cursed as everyone sprang into action. "Get the others, run for the cars."

Daryl went back into the family room to see T-Dog getting Hannah and Carl. He looked out the window to see maybe about a dozen dead faces in trying to get in. He followed the rest of the group out towards the garage, and hopped in the large grey truck. Carol had gotten in the passenger seat. He would've felt better if Hannah were in the car with him, but he knew she was safe in the Hyundai with Rick, Glenn, Carl, and T-Dog. This house had the largest garage on the block, big enough to fit three cars. It was one of the reasons why they chose it. They'd found the truck already parked inside with a full tank of gas. Daryl put his bike in the truck bed, given that it was getting too cold for him to keep riding it. He hit the garage door opener, cringing at the sound of the mechanical door opening. Houses like these had generators, meaning that they still had some power.

"Hold on," Daryl warned Carol as he whipped out of the garage. There were maybe about a hundred walkers heading towards them. There were hands reaching up and clawing at the windows. In the rearview mirror, he could see the other two cars waiting for him to move. Daryl stepped on the gas and plowed through a dozen walkers. Blood stained the hood of the truck. The putrid smell of death stunk up the air. He didn't dare open up the windows, not yet. He veered towards the left, where there were fewer walkers and sped away. He could see the other two cars following behind them. Relief set in, knowing that Hannah was safe.

They headed straight out of the suburb, passing dozens of walkers along the way. Daryl led them on the back country roads, which were never well maintained even before the world ended. It was even worst now. There was pothole after pothole. They were bouncing so much, Daryl was beginning to feel nauseated. He looked back, making sure the others didn't get stuck.

"End of this road, should lead to the main road," he spoke. "Keep drivin' 'til we run outta daylight."

"And then what?" Carol asked.

"Rick was thinkin' up North," Daryl stated.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"Whatever Rick says goes," he shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess so," she sighed. "And what're you planning to do for Hannah?"

"What the hell you talkin' about?" Daryl snapped.

"She's drowning, Daryl," the older woman pointed out. "I know you lost Charlotte too. I know you miss her, but she was Hannah's mom. She was all that little girl had. She needs her father."

"You don't think I know that?" Daryl snapped. "'Sides, the hell kinda authority you got? You hardly even talked to Charlie."

"I know what it's like to lose your family," Carol snapped back. "I lost my daughter, remember?"

Daryl looked away from the older woman in guilt. Of course he remembered Sophia. It was yet another one of his failures. He was so sure he'd find her. Just as he'd been sure he'd find Charlie unscathed. He was wrong on both counts. He couldn't save anyone.

* * *

Another house, another herd, another quick getaway. It was all becoming very routine for the group. Hannah sat in the backseat of the Hyundai with Carl. She absentmindedly stared out the window, trying to drift back to sleep, though her head kept banging the window because the road was so bumpy.

"We'll keep drivin' 'til sunset. Then we'll find a place to spend the night 'n hit the road first thing," Rick explained. Hannah huffed, her head hitting the glass once more.

Carl kept trying to get Hannah to talk. She had to hand it to him, he was resilient. She did respond, but only in sign. This was her first language, wasn't her fault none of the others knew it, though she knew Carl was trying to learn it. Hannah was thankful for that.

She held the locket around her neck and squeezed her eyes shut. She found herself doing this quite often, when she felt especially lonely. It never made her see her mom, or hear her, or anything like that, but it made Hannah feel closer to her. It brought her some sense of comfort. For just a split second, she was at peace. There was an old saying for that, she remembered her Granny saying it when Hannah first started doing speech therapy. More than half the times Hannah met with the speech therapist, her mother was working, meaning her Granny needed to take her -this was after her Aunt Willow moved to Nashville-. Hannah would often feel beaten down that she couldn't speak. Her Granny used to look at her and say: _"Baby steps, darlin'. It'll all come in good time."_

She looked over at Carl who was looking down at a book. She saw him make the ASL 'B' and sticking it under his chin. She wondered if he knew what that sign actually meant. For some reason, seeing Carl sign the word made her laugh hysterically. Everyone in the car jumped at the sound of it. She didn't care though, she was laughing too hard. Maybe, she'd finally cracked.

"Why are you laughing?" Carl asked.

"Y-Your sign…" her voice was hoarse but she managed to speak in between giggles. T-Dog, Glenn, and Rick all looked back at her with surprised expressions."I thought I was saying breakfast…" Carl drifted off.

"You- you were signing 'bitch'," she laughed once more. She stopped, realizing that this was the first time in six weeks that she spoke. _Baby steps darlin'. Baby steps._


	2. Chapter 2

Even though the sun was shining brightly in the sky, Willow shivered. They'd been walking for weeks now. It had taken her a while to even speak to her new travelling companions. She remembered Andrea from her brief time on the farm, though they never spoke much. Michonne, however, was a mystery. The dreadlocked woman never spoke of her past, or of what her interests were, or even what she did for a living before the turn. When they did talk, it was mostly about where to go next. This left Andrea to start conversations.

Things hadn't gotten any easier since Oliver. Willow felt like there was this gaping hole in her heart where he used to be. However, she could feel herself being pulled back. She knew Andrea and Michonne had a part to play in that. Before they found her that day in the woods, Willow was nothing more than a wild animal. All she did was survive and kill. Truth be told, Will couldn't remember the faces, whether or not they were walker or people. Andrea told her after that when they saw her, they thought she was a walker. That is, until she spoke. At that point, she may as well had been one. She was dead inside. Willow didn't remember what she said. Andrea said that she begged to die. It took her time to come back, and she wasn't a hundred percent either way.

Every once in a while, Willow would grip her AA chip, reminding herself not to give in. From what she could remember of her time alone, Will had picked up a few bottles but never drank. Even the animalistic version of her didn't slip up. _Ollie would be proud,_ she told herself. Maybe that's what stopped even her most primal self. Even though he was dead, she couldn't bring herself to disappoint him.

" _You're stronger than the booze, Will."_ She remembered how he would constantly repeat that to her after he started helping her. In a way, those words made her fall in love with him. Will smiled looking down at the golden ring around her neck. She put it on the same chain as her dog tags. The gold ring, that was all she had left of him.

They'd stopped walking, Michonne decided that this was the place to rest for the night. It was a rather small cabin in the woods. There were vines crawling up the brown walls. Given the end of fall weather, the vines were dead. It gave the cabin a rustic with just a hint of serial killer lair vibe. Ok, more than just a hint. Looking at the cabin, Willow couldn't help but imagine there being an old lady in there ready to bake them all into pies. Still, shelter was shelter. Michonne tied her pets to the tree outside. Will had to admit that while travelling with two walkers on chains was a little creepy, they did provide excellent camouflage. They could move through the large herds of walkers without being detected. Or at least that was the theory. Willow often wondered if they could actually mask the smell of three people. They tried their best to not test that theory.

Andrea volunteered to take the first watch. Michonne would take the second and she the last. Michonne fell asleep almost instantly, knowing that she didn't have long before she had to wake again. Will tried, but she couldn't sleep. She laid next to the small fireplace that was lit. Michonne got the couch. Still, she had trouble falling asleep. It was a recurring problem that started after Oliver. Most of her nights were fitful at best. Willow was no stranger to nightmares. Every night she saw that house over and over again.

Michonne woke her for her watch. Will sat by the front window, her machete in hand. On her first watch, post her not being a functional human being, Andrea offered her gun. Will remembered shaking her head, trying her best not to slip back in her primal phase. Truth is, she has a gun in her bag, but she hasn't used it since that night. She got along just fine with her machete. She couldn't bring herself to touch it. She'd only fired off one shot, but it was enough.

The longer Willow sat alone on watch, the more she thought about everyone she'd lost. There was one topic Andrea and Will never talked about, the farm. Or rather, who was on it. She didn't want to know if Hannah and Charlotte were still alive. It was like that cat that was in the box. As long as it was in the box, it was both alive and dead. So long as Will remained ignorant, her family was still alive. The reality was that she needed to think her family was alive. To think that they were gone… She couldn't think of that. Even though she knew what had gone down, that the farm was overrun, she still had a shred of hope that her family was alive.

There was no movement outside. The sun was starting to rise, the orange and pink colours began to swallow the darkness of the night. Willow always loved dawn. The most beautiful sunrise she'd ever seen had to be in Iraq. It was just before Raven died. Even though that country was torn apart by war, Willow could still remember some beauty. She watched as the darkness disappeared and light took over. _New Day._

Willow carefully stepped over Michonne's sleeping body. She and Andrea alternated between sleeping on the couch and the floor. Will grabbed the empty pot from Andrea's bag and and the pack of ramen noodles. She set the water to boil over the fire. Her stomach twisted thinking about food. They were running low on food now. When it was done, Will took only a little bit in a bowl, leaving enough for her friends, if she could even call them that. Though, they had been travelling together for about two months now, they put up with all the craziness that was Willow. Surely, they were more than just survivors mutually surviving together.

She went back to her chair by the window. She took her time eating the noodles, savouring every last bite. Her left shoulder started to stiffen. She put the bowl down on the windowsill and tenderly rubbed it. Even years later, old wounds could still hurt. Michonne woke up first, grabbed some food and sat across from her.

"Anything?" She asked.

"Nah, it's quiet out there," Will answered trying her best to sit comfortably. "We could stay here a couple of days."

"Nearest town is miles away," Michonne countered. "We're runnin' low on food as is."

"So, what are you thinking?" She asked.

"Head towards the coast," she suggested. "Find a boat, maybe an island."

"Hm, could you imagine? Sittin' on a beach, sippin' out of a coconut. Hearing the waves crashing on the beach."

"That fresh ocean breeze… gettin' a glorious tan," Michonne fantasized.

"Ok, I'm sold," Willow smiled.

"We'll head out when Andrea wakes up," she said. "We could probably make it to Macon in three days."

"Maybe we should wait until tomorrow," Willow mused looking out the window. "I think it's going to rain."

"And what makes you so sure?" Michonne asked. The clouds had rolled in rather quickly in comparison to this morning.

"Call it intuition," Will responded trying to crack her shoulder. It only even got this sore if there was moisture in the air.

"Mm-hm," she said. "How'd you hurt your shoulder?"

"It was a long time ago. Old battle wound. It tends to seize up when…"

"When it's about the rain," she finished.

"Yeah. Call it my super power," she smirked. This was possibly the longest conversation she'd had with Michonne so far.

"Well, I'll be damned," Michonne said looking out the window. Willow looked out the window to see the first few droplets on rain hit the glass.

* * *

 _Two Weeks Later_

Ever since Hannah spoke that first time in the car, it seemed like she'd started coming alive again. Well, in a sense, it was sort of like being on a roller coaster, some days she was up, others not so much. This week, had been a good one. Rick lead a gun training session. Surprisingly enough, Hannah was getting to be a decent shot. She remembered going out in the woods with Daryl back at the farm. She remembered their agreement, if she became a good enough shot, Daryl would teach her to shoot a bow. Of course, that was when her mom was alive.

She still hasn't been able to say more than two words to him. Every time she looked at Daryl, she remembered her mom. She could never forget the _'I'm sorry'_ on the highway. He promised to bring her back, and he failed. There was no one she could project her anger on. Randall was dead. Shane was dead. All there was left was her father.

At the moment, the group was staying in yet another house. This one was significantly smaller than the last, there were only three bedrooms and one very tiny bathroom. Lori obviously got one because of the baby. She was starting to show a little bit more, though she was already stick thin so it didn't take much to have her showing. Hannah tried not to think that the baby in Lori's stomach could be Shane's. It wasn't a secret anymore that Lori had no clue who the father was. This drove a wedge between Lori and Rick. Even from the grave, Shane was still managing to screw up things in the group.

They were sitting around the table eating yet another can of corn, some rice, and squirrel meat. Hannah had to admit that squirrel didn't taste all that awful. She could remember how to skin them, even though she wasn't all that great at it.

"There was a strip mall nearby," Glenn spoke up. "I can go tomorrow, see what I can find."

"Not alone, you're not," Rick agreed. Hannah's ears perked up. She'd helped clear this house, surely she was old enough.

"Maggie'll be with me," Glenn stated. Hannah looked over at the brunette girl who nodded. It was always Glenn and Maggie that did runs.

Hannah waited until after after dinner to go up to Glenn. He was out on watch, swapping for T-Dog. She couldn't help but notice how much Glenn had changed over the last two months. He still wore his baseball cap, but his hair had grown longer. The most noticeable change, however, came with the caterpillar like moustache growing on his upper lip, it wasn't like razor's were a priority at the moment. Hannah teased him as much as she could about it. She stepped out into the brisk day. Hannah predicted that any day now, there would be snow.

"Hannah what're you doing out here?" Glenn asked. Hannah took a deep breath.

"Can I go on the run with you?" She asked shyly.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he stated.

"Why not? I'm a decent shot, I'm fast, I can handle it," she argued.

"You're still a kid, Hannah. I can't be looking out for Maggie and you," he explained.

"You won't have to worry about me. I can handle myself," she countered.

"Hannah, no. Not yet."

"Well then when?" She whined.

"Hannah, I promised your mom I'd look out for you. That's what I'm doing."

"I can take care of myself," she snapped before storming back inside the house.

This was so stupid. She was too old to be treated like a little kid. She knew how to shoot, she'd killed a whole lot of walkers at the farm. She should be ready to go out there. Glenn said that he promised her mom he'd look out for her. _News flash Glenn, my mom's gone._ She didn't need looking out for. She could handle herself.

Hannah grumbled and sat on the couch. She didn't want to just sit around anymore. But she would, given that was the only thing she was allowed to do.

 _A few days later_

They were up and moving again. According to Glenn, there was a herd heading towards them. He and Maggie saw at lead the beginnings of it. So now they were driving down some newer backroads -thankfully. Hannah had no idea where they were. She just sat in the backseat, sandwiched between Beth and Lori. Hershel and T-Dog sat in the two front seats. This was one of the first times since the farm that Hannah was not sitting next to Carl. Lori had fallen asleep, Beth stared out the window. Her head perked up.

"Hannah, look," she said pointing forward. "A deer."

Hannah looked forward and smiled, making eye contact with the animal. It had beautiful antlers. They were huge, majestic. Hannah noticed they were covered in moss. She couldn't help but remember the movie _Bambi_ and how royal his father had seemed. She'd always loved that movie. Bambi didn't talk very much, which at the time was refreshing since she wasn't all that great at reading lips. _Bambi's mom died too, that's another thing you got in common,_ the annoying voice in her head told her. Most days, she really wished that stupid voice would just shut up.

A few hours later, Hannah followed Glenn into their new temporary lodging. This time, it wasn't a house, it was a large gas station convenience store. There was nothing else closer. The nearest town was apparently still miles away. They wouldn't make it before nightfall. Rick decided that this would be the best place. They would head out first thing in the morning. Half of it had isles where food had been kept before this. The other half was a tacky souvenir shop. Hannah remembered seeing signs for a National Campground, this must be pretty close to it. Hannah kept her gun raised as Glenn led her in the aisles. Carl stuck with Rick. It had mostly been cleared out, but Hannah thought she saw a few candy bars. One aisle over she heard a moan then the crashing on the floor.

"All clear," she heard T-Dog declare from the aisle next to them.

"Maggie?" Rick asked.

"All clear here too," she stated.

"Daryl?"

"Clear," her father's gruff voice echoed.

"Glenn, Hannah?"

"Clear," he declared. Hannah holstered her gun.

The rest of the group filed in one by one. They set up the sleeping area towards the back of the store. They kept the front door locked with the shutters down. Whoever had closed up shop boarded up the windows. They had a lantern set up, it casted a weak orange glow over the tired survivors. No one spoke, given that noise could only attract unwanted monsters. Although, Hannah suspected that this silence was caused because they were so drained. Being constantly on the run, the inevitability of winter coming, the lack of food, security, Hannah understood why they felt that way.

She noticed Daryl sitting a little further from the group. Good, she didn't want to be near him. Unable to handle the intense boredom anymore, Hannah quietly snuck away to where she and Glenn had explored. She'd set up her sleeping bag towards the back, making easy to slip away unnoticed. It was stupid, but she needed a break. She didn't want to be around people right now.

She tried to find anything she could. The shelves themselves were mostly bare, empty cans and chip bags had been left behind. She did manage to find razors, maybe Glenn could use it to shave the stupid caterpillar off of his face. She stuffed the razors the her hoodie's pouch. Beth had found it about a week ago when they were staying at a house. It was simple enough, a forest green colour and a small logo on the left side of her chest. The logo was from one of those summer camps, the kind were rich people sponsored kids who were under-privileged to go away for the summer and live in the wilderness. The only reason she even knew about camps like these was because last summer -the last normal summer before the world went to shit- she was offered the chance to go. Her mom tried to convince her that it might be a good idea, _You can make some friends._ Hannah merely scoffed. She'd only ever had one hearing friend growing up, and it wasn't like the deaf community was up and coming in Henessey Georgia. Until the apocalypse, Hannah never really got along with hearing kids. _Mostly because they were ignorant jerks,_ she told herself bitterly. The only hearing kid in Henessey that she'd ever been friends with was most likely dead. Which meant that out of the three friends she'd made in her life, two of them were dead.

Hannah continued her search, not finding much. She wondered if by now they would've realized that she was gone. She explored a little more, mostly searching for a chocolate bar. She could've sworn she saw a Big Cat nearby. She loved those. Hannah huffed, nearly giving up hope until the familiar brown wrapper caught her eye.

"Jackpot," she whispered to herself. It was still unopened. She grinned slipping it in her pocket.

"What're you doin' over here?" Hannah jumped turning around to see Daryl. She rolled her eyes and started back towards the rest of the group. "Hey, I'm talkin' to you."

"And I'm ignoring you," she said in a snarky tone. "Kinda like you did my mom for thirteen years. Sucks when the shoe is on the other foot, doesn't it?" He looked as though he'd just been punched in the gut. _Good,_ she told herself. She didn't wait for him to respond before turning and walking away.

 **Short, I know but I wanted to get this chapter out there. Let me know if you enjoyed it!**


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl was frozen in the aisle, completely gobsmacked. Hannah's words cut through him like a rusty nail. He should've expected them, but he'd hoped for a different outcome to trying to talk to Hannah for the first time in two months. He noticed that Hannah was gone when he got up for his watch. He shook away the surprise and walked over to relieve Rick from watch.

Rick stayed a little while longer, noticing how troubled Daryl was. He said nothing at first, just kept watch.

"I got this, you can go back," Daryl spoke up.

"I know. I just wanted to check in on ya," Rick replied.

"I'm fine," he stated.

"No, you're not," he countered. "We can all see it, and we get it. Things haven't been easy on any o' us, but you 'n Hannah…"

"Stop, you've already told me this shit before. Hannah's got it worst," he stated. "I was barely with Charlie."

"Don't mean you're not takin' what happened hard," he said. "Look, you can't keep pullin' away. The group needs you. Hannah needs you too." Daryl couldn't help but scoff at the last statement.

"Nah, she don't. Made it pretty damn clear," he stated staring out of the crack between the boarded windows.

"She's a kid. Kids say things they don't mean," he emphasized. Daryl tilted his head in confusion.

"You heard?"

"Y'all weren't bein' all that quiet. Pretty sure everyone heard," Rick explained. "Point is, you've given her time. Now you gotta make sure she knows you're there." Daryl looked away once more. "You're not better on your own. And, truth is, we need you." Daryl stayed quiet. "You know what, you're right. I'm gonna get some sleep. T-Dog's on watch startin' at two." Rick handed Daryl his watch before walking to the back of the store.

Daryl huffed and sat back down on the counter, constantly looking out the window. He went to take the beaten up pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, luckily he found a new pack -this one only half empty- at the last house they'd stayed in. Only he'd reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it to see Charlie and Hannah looking up at him smiling. He'd almost forgotten about this picture. He could remember sitting in Charlie's room looking at pictures of his daughter growing up. All the things he never got the chance to see because he wasn't there. In this one, Hannah and Charlie looked so happy. He noticed that one of Hannah's bottom teeth was missing. He liked to remember Charlie like this, smiling, not a care in the world. That was the woman he remembered from the hospital. The one that, despite everything he put her through, still saw a good man.

 _Daryl wasn't exactly sure why he'd stepped in, but seeing James harassing the girl from the hospital made his blood boil. Even though James was a frequent client of his brother's, didn't mean that Daryl liked him. The guy was an absolute dick. He thought that ever piece of tail that walked into the bar belonged to him. Normally, Daryl would've turned the other cheek but the minute he saw those blonde curls, he knew it was her._

" _Leave me alone," he could hear the sweetness in her voice vanished._

" _And what're you gonna do if I don't?" James asked, challenging her. James was around a half a foot taller than her. His crew kept harassing her, trying to lift the skirt of her dress._

 _Daryl stepped forward, making eye contact with the dick. James_ _' crew could easily take him down, only they'd get on Merle's bad side. And that was something no one in this town wanted to be._

" _We got a problem here James?" He asked. She turned around and locked eyes with him. James glared at him._

" _This ain't none o' your concern, Dixon," he stated. Daryl knew what it meant,_ Back off she's mine _. Only thing is, Daryl wasn't about to let up. Girl didn't deserve to be treated like property. She was bright and kind, completely unlike him or anyone else he knew._

" _Daryl?" She remembered his name. He, of course, had forgotten. Honestly, he never expected to see her again._

" _You best step away," he growled, throwing James murderous looks. He could see the man visibly shrink, throwing his hands up in surrender._

" _Hey, man, don't want no trouble. Didn't realize this was your girl," he said. Daryl knew not to correct him, it was the way to get men like James and his crew to back off. Men like him. "Ya won't mention this to Merle, will ya?"_

" _If you don't leave right now, best believe I will," he growled. James signalled for the rest of his crew to follow him as they left the bar. Sometimes, being Merle's brother had it's perks._

 _The girl from the hospital eyed him, like she was trying to find out his every secret._ Sorry Princess, you'll have to get in line, _he thought to himself._

" _Thank you," she said flashing him a kind smile._

" _Don' mention it," he told her. He felt awkward by this. He wasn't used to this sort of thing._

" _Let me buy you a drink," she suggested. Daryl went to decline but she kept talking. "I won't take no for an answer."_

 _He looked towards the back of the bar, noticing a group of people that, like her, didn't quite belong._

" _What about your friends?" He asked, no sooner had he spoken did the girl at the table started making out with one of the guys and rubbed the other guy's neck. At least someone was getting lucky tonight._

" _They see to be gettin' along jus' fine without me," she laughed and suddenly grabbed his hand. Her hand was warm. She pulled him towards the bar._

" _Fine, one drink," he conceded._

 _She ordered them each a beer. Daryl sat there trying hard to remember her name. He didn_ _'t speak as he guzzled down the drink._

" _So, it was Daryl, right?" She double checked. "I mean I'm usually great with names."_

" _Yeah," he grunted._

" _Charlotte, by the way," she reintroduced herself. So that was her name, Charlotte. He stayed quiet drinking. Just because she bought him a drink, didn't mean that he had to talk. "So… Daryl, what do you like to do when you're not savin' girls at bars?"_

 _He stiffened at the question. He finished the last little bit of his drink and got up. "Thanks for the drink, but I gotta head out."_

" _Wait," she said. "Look, my friends are kinda busy, I'm nowhere near my apartment since I was supposed to be crashin' at Heather's place but that's obviously not happenin'. This place kinda freaks me out but you seem like a nice enough guy…"_

" _You got a point?" He asked._

" _Just… I dunno…" she drifted off. Daryl looked at her and sighed before sitting back down. He looked up at Joe, the bartender._

" _Whiskey, double, neat." He held up two fingers indicating how many drinks Joe needed to make._

" _Comin' right up, Daryl," Joe said._

" _Geez, is this the kind of town where everyone knows everyone?" She asked._

" _Kinda." Well, if they were a Dixon. "You from the city?" Joe deposited the two shots in front of them. Daryl downed his no problem, he was used to it by now. Charlotte, on the other hand, cringed slightly. He asked Joe for two more, if he was stuck here, he sure as hell wasn't leaving sober._

" _Kinda, I mean I grew up in a small town a few hours outside Atlanta. Been livin' in Athens though for school," she explained. "Lived here your whole life?"_

" _Yeah." And he didn't plan on leaving anytime soon._

" _So, you got a brother right?" She asked awkwardly._

" _We don't gotta talk. Just drink," he stated._

" _Fine," she agreed. "Be warned though, med students know how to drink." Daryl took this as a challenge._

" _You're on." Ain't no woman could ever drink him under the table._

 _They drank the strangest array of things. Whoever finished first ordered the next drink. He_ _'d gotten to the bar at twelve, and by last call, they were both piss drunk. Though not so much that he would black out. He'd only ever gotten that drunk a few times in his life. Charlotte was holding her own great. She was right, med students sure knew how to drink. At some point Charlotte's friends had left without so much as a goodbye. Some friends she had. They did another shot of whiskey when Joe called it._

" _So, Daryl, since I obviously am not goin' home," she slurred. "Why don't we head to a motel?" She was bold, he'd give her that. He wasn't blind, she was damn hot. She got up off the barstool and sensually whispered in his ear. "No strings, no commitment, just sex."_

 _Maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that it had been a while since he had sex, but Daryl got up off the stool and let her take him by the hand._ _"Sure thing, Charlie."_

Of course, that wasn't the last time they saw each other. A few days later they bumped into each other again, and hooked up. It happened almost every day for about three weeks before Charlie finally asked him out. By the end, it wasn't even that they were just screwing and leaving, they'd actually started talking. Well, she did most of the talking but he found himself intrigued by her. That was mid-May. By June, he was picking her up after work. And then July happened. The start was great, it was smooth. Then Merle was getting suspicious. He kept wondering where he went off to at night.

Daryl put the picture back in his pocket, a small smile crept on his face thinking back to that night. Even with all the pain that came along after, Daryl decided that he wouldn't change meeting her. He wouldn't change all the memories they had together, nor the fact that he and Charlie had a kid. Given the chance to do it all over again, he never would've left her, he wouldn't have let her die. But the good times and even the bad -the arguing, the hurt-, he'd keep them, because it meant that at some point she was his.

* * *

After the rain had cleared, Willow, Michonne, and Andrea hit the road once more. They're made it up by Macon, then started south. The thing they weren't counting on was the freezing rain storm that happened about a week after they'd left Macon. Now, they were stuck inside of yet another small house with hardly any supplies. Willow was sitting by the fire, trying to warm up her cold hands as Michonne went to look around the houses nearby.

"You know, I really miss Florida winters," Andrea complained sitting on the couch. Will stepped away from the fire and took a seat next to her.

"There are winters in Florida?" Will asked confused.

"Nope. Exactly why I miss it. Hurricane Season was a bitch though," she explained.

"Yeah, I'll bet. That's one thing I miss most about Tennessee, not too many hurricanes blow through there. Might get the tail end but that's it," Will added.

"How long were you in Tennessee for?" she asked.

"A little over five years," she replied. "I needed a change."

"But you came back?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah, the apocalypse tends to make you wanna reconnect with home," she sighed. "You didn't want to go home?"

"What would've been the point?" Andrea asked. "I had Amy, then when I lost her… I dunno I just didn't see the point. I knew my parents were most likely dead. There's nothing left for me in Florida."

"Except no winters," Will joked.

"Exactly," she laughed. Andrea's face went serious once more. "I gotta know something. I know you said you didn't wanna know about Charlotte and Hannah…" Will cut her off.

"So don't say."

"I just wanna know, why? If my sister was out there, I'd wanna know," Andrea added.

Will hesitated looking at Andrea. She didn't exactly know what to say. Her logic didn't make sense. Any sane person would want to know that their family was alive. _Maybe that's the problem, you're not sane._ It was a fair assessment. It was doubtful that she was anything but crazy now. Andrea still looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Because…" she drifted off trying to find the right thing to say. "It's like you said, there's no point. Even if I knew, where the hell would I even begin to look? Gotta keep survivin'." Andrea huffed almost in disappointment. Will had to lie, it was the only way she could keep herself seeming somewhat sane.

"She worried about you," Andrea stated. "Charlotte I mean. After you left the farm, she felt awful about what went down."

Willow scoffed at the statement. Charlotte would never feel awful about anything that went down between them. She knew that her sister never forgave her for what happened back home. It was why Will avoided going back to Henessey for so long.

"She was worried," Andrea repeated.

"Charlotte wouldn't worry about me. When the world went to shit, she didn't think about me once," Will snapped.

"To be fair, she had Hannah to look out for," she defended.

"I get that," she shrugged. "Things between us got so fucked up."

"Yeah, she mentioned that you were close growin' up. Then you drifted apart."

She let out a dry laugh and said: "I guess that's one way to put it."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Look, just because it's the end of the world, doesn't mean I gotta spill my guts," Will snapped.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me. Instead, I'll tell you something," Andrea started. "Until all of this, Amy and I were never all that close. Mostly it was because of the age gap, but still. When I was about eighteen, Amy was six, I brought home my first real boyfriend. We were sitting in the basement watching _Friday The 13th_. It was all going great until Amy decided she wanted to come watch it too."

"You let her watch _Friday The 13th_ at six?" Will asked in disbelief.

"He said he'd let her know when all the scary parts were," Andrea defended. "Then five minutes later, guy gets an arrow through his throat. She screamed and ran upstairs. I looked over to see my boyfriend laughing. He wanted to scare her. It took me all but two seconds to throw him out on his ass."

"Why are you telling me this?" Will asked confused.

"Because even though Amy and me were never close, I still dumped a guy because he upset my kid sister. Because my sister meant more to me than some guy. Because even though I didn't know Charlotte for very long, I know for a fact she would do the same," Andrea explained. "Despite all the bullshit you both seem to have piled up… Family always has your back."

Andrea's words stuck with Will through the next few days. Willow doubted she could even begin to make up for the crap she pulled before she moved away. After she came back from her tour in Iraq, after Raven… it all became too much. She thought that living back home would do her some good. How wrong she'd been. The nightmares plagued her every night. During the day time, every time there was a loud bang, or someone screamed, Will went into attack mode. The only way she could get the voices and memories to stop was to drink them away.

" _What_ _the fuck's wrong with you?"_ She could hear Charlotte's voice yelling over and over. That particular question was from the night Willow let her sister down in the worst way possible.

 _Willow was laying on the couch, the bottle of gin sat next to her. Her mom was out playing bridge with her friends. Charlotte was at work. Hannah was at school. She flipped through the channels before settling on some stupid cartoon. She took another swig from the bottle and glanced over at the clock. It was ten am, and she was already hammered. She couldn_ _'t even remember what the cartoon was, probably_ Looney Tunes _or some shit. She just remembered laughing uncontrollably until she passed out._

 _She woke up a few hours later, her head pounding, the world spinning. There was shouting but Will couldn_ _'t quite register what was happening. For a second she wasn't in Georgia anymore. Her hands were covered in blood and she jumped up. The scene shook away and she looked up to see Charlotte standing above her, fury filling her eyes._

" _What the fuck's wrong with you?!" She yelled._

" _Shh," she urged pinching the bridge of her nose._

" _I told you I needed you to pick up Hannah from school!_ _"_ _Will shook away the sleep and sat up._

" _What? That's not until three thirty."_

" _It's five in the afternoon!" Charlotte yelled. Willow looked passed her rage filled sister to see Hannah looking at her, eyes red and puffy. Her lip was swollen and bleeding. There was a cut above her right eye brow._

" _What happened?" Will asked, her head still pounding._

" _She started walkin' to the diner when some kids cornered her! They threw rocks at her, Will. Beat her up. ALL BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T PICK HER UP!" The news hit her like a ton of bricks. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Hannah._

" _I'm sorry," she said, her voice cracking._

" _NO! No more 'I'm Sorry's, you went too far this time! This has gone on long enough!" Charlotte continued yelling._

" _Let me talk to her," Will begged while sobbing. "Lemme make it up."_

" _You stay away from my daughter!" She snapped. "You don't talk to her, don't even LOOK at her till you get your shit together!"_

" _Please, Charlotte don't do this," Will pleaded. "Please, don't shut me out."_

" _You're not giving me another choice. I can't help you when you're like this!" Charlotte turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Willow to wallow in her own self-pity._

She left for Nashville the next morning. Charlotte had been right, she couldn't keep hurting her family. The easiest thing to do was leave. So she ran.

" _What the fuck's wrong with you?"_ Charlotte's voice rang her head once more.

 _So many things, Lottie. So many things._

* * *

 _Two Weeks Later_

Things with Hannah had gone from bad to worst. Now, whenever Daryl even spoke she would roll her eyes, or scoff. He was trying hard to make sure that she knew he was there for her, but he knew she wanted nothing to do with him. The strain between Hannah and Daryl seemed to be taking a toll on the group. He had to fix things, he just wasn't exactly sure how. No amount of parenting books could prepare him for this. None of them exactly covered what to do when the mother of his child is stabbed by some whack job and then bit by a walker.

They'd found another house to stay in for a few days. Now that the weather was all over the place, it made it harder to travel around for long periods of time. Plus, there was Lori. She needed just a few days to rest and recoup. Really, they all did. All this running, it finally felt like they could breath. Daryl stood on watch, something he did now almost as frequently as he went hunting. It was a way that he could stay close to the group without ever actually sticking around too closely. He'd never admit it, but Hannah being like this hurt him. He was trying but he kept getting knocked down. He knew Charlie would be furious if she saw him like this. She'd tell him to get his head out of his ass and try harder.

 _Ain't that easy, Charlie._ Living with this wasn't easy. Hannah, Charlie, all of it. He didn't ask for this. He didn't want this. Things were so much simpler when all he did was follow Merle around. This weight he carried now, responsibility, the guilt, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. _Charlie's dead and your daughter hates you,_ he reminded himself.

"Anything?" He turned around to see Glenn standing there.

"Nah, been quiet," Daryl answered. He started to head back in the house when Glenn spoke again.

"What Hannah's doing to you," he started. "It isn't fair." Daryl stayed quiet, frozen in place. "I was there, Daryl. I saw her die in your arms. I saw the look on your face, you can't lie to me. You loved her."

"Hannah needs someone to be pissed at, let it be me," he stiffly told him.

"There are a few houses here that we haven't hit," Glenn quickly changed the subject. "I was thinking about checking them out."

"Why you tellin' me?" He asked. "Rick's the one you oughta talk to."

"I did, and he said I should talk to you," he answered.

"Why?"

"'Cause I wanted to ask if I could bring Hannah."

"Hell no," Daryl said trying his best not to yell.

"Think about it Daryl, it's just a couple of houses," Glenn stated. "She needs some time away from the others. It'll give me time to talk to her, privately."

"No, too risky. I already lost Charlie, ain't gonna lose her too." He didn't wait to listen before going back inside.

There was some sort of commotion happening when he came back in. He followed the loud arguing in the kitchen to see Hannah standing in front of Carol, who's face was bright red.

"You don't get to tell me a damn thing!" Hannah yelled at the older woman. "You don't get to treat me like crap for _weeks_ only to suddenly care?"

"I've always cared," Carol tried to defend. "I'm trying to help you."

"That's bullshit!" She swore. No one bothered to chastise her for cussing. "You've hated me since I came back on the highway and Sophia didn't! You blamed _a kid._ You blamed me because I came back and she died! Who the hell does that?!"

"Hannah, please just calm down," Lori chimed in from next to Carol. There was a loud bang as Hannah slammed her fists on the table. Daryl had never seen her this aggressive before.

"Why should I?" She yelled. Daryl couldn't linger in the shadows anymore. The girl sure had his temper. Then again, her mother had quite the temper too.

"That's enough!" Daryl exclaimed stepping into the kitchen. "Hannah, stop."

"Look whosuddenly decided to care," Hannah told him snidely. She rolled her eyes and headed out of the kitchen, angrily bumping into Daryl's shoulder.

"That girl's out of control," Carol said. Her eyes were filled with tears. She looked at him with something he could only describe as pleading. "You gotta do something."

Daryl turned away, leaving the other women behind. This couldn't go on. The way Hannah was spiralling, she'd get herself and others killed. Yeah sure, things were looking up for a bit, she was talking, eating, and sleeping again. Now it's something a whole lot worst. Daryl thought back to Glenn's proposal. If Daryl, or Carol, or Lori couldn't get Hannah to stop, maybe Glenn could. The kid looked up to him like Daryl used to look up to Merle. Daryl walked back outside to see Glenn scanning the area, his rifle on his shoulders.

"Okay," Daryl said. Glenn jumped slightly.

"What?" Glenn asked.

"You were right. I can't let her keep goin' like this," he explained. "If anyone can talk some sense to her, it's you."

"Okay," Glenn agreed. "I promise I'll keep her safe."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. It's what we do," Glenn told him.

The anger in Hannah seemed to only get worst over the last two weeks. Ever since that night in the gas station, her resentment and anger consumed her. Even Carl didn't hang out with her anymore. He contented himself to either cleaning his gun or trailing after Rick. Hannah was left alone once more. Difference between being alone when she was younger to now, this time it wasn't her deafness that pushed people away, this time it was all her.

She was surprised when Glenn asked her if she wanted to head out and look through a few of the houses for supplies. Her shock, however, didn't stop her from immediately agreeing. Glenn woke her up early that morning and they headed out. She tried not to watch as Glenn kissed Maggie goodbye. They each carried a backpack, hoping to fill it with supplies. Hannah kept her gun in hand. She still hated the thing, but then again she hated most things these days.

"Okay, here are the rules: I go in first, if I tell you to run, you run back to the house and get the others, you listen to everything that I say, don't shoot unless you have to, and most importantly don't do anything stupid," he listed off. "Got it?"

"Yeah," she nodded. She had this weird sense of excitement as Glenn pried open the locked door. Finally, she was actually doing something. Glenn entered the house first, and beckoned Hannah to follow.

"We go room by room, look for batteries, food, water, and medicine, in that order," he commanded.

"Yes sir," Hannah joked.

The house seemed virtually untouched, which wasn't all that surprising since the front door was locked. They went into the dimly lit living room first. Hannah followed Glenn's lead, rummaging through the drawers. She didn't find much, just a couple of batteries which she slipped in her bag. They moved on to the kitchen. Neither of them spoke as they searched the cupboards. She gathered up a few cans of food, some dried noodles. Anything she could get her hands on. They gathered what they found on the kitchen table.

"We'll do a sweep of the upstairs and then…" he was cut off by the sound of something being knocked over upstairs. "Shit."

"Walker?" Hannah asked.

"I dunno. Stay here, fill the bags, get ready to run. I'll go check it out," Glenn said tossing her his bag. Hannah felt the panic seize her. "I'll be right back." Then she was left alone.

Hannah hurriedly stuffed things in both bags, constantly looking over her shoulder to see if Glenn was there. It may had only been less than a minute since he went upstairs, but to Hannah it felt like an eternity. She heard another thump upstairs. _Glenn._ Screw it, she couldn't wait around anymore. Hannah ran up the stairs, her gun in hand.

Her heart pounded as she got to the long hallway. She heard the banging coming from down the hall. Hannah didn't hesitate as she ran towards the danger. The closer she got, the louder the moans got. _Walker_. She barged into the room to see Glenn wrestling with the decaying corpse of a man. Another corpse, that of a woman, lay on the ground a few feet away, dead. She raised her gun, but realized how easy it would be to miss and hit Glenn. Instead, she went for her knife. Quickly, she ran and tackled the walker off of Glenn. A pain shot through her elbow as she landed on the ground. She managed to land on her side, the walker was knocked down a few inches away. _Shit_ , she cursed and started to crawl away. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she crawled away from the walker. It's attention was now away from Glenn, focusing solely on her, which was exactly what she wanted.

The walker reached forward. Hannah crawled back until she hit the wall. Her knife in hand, she readied herself yet couldn't summon the energy to fight back. She stared at the walker in the eyes, it's cold dead eyes, and thought how much easier it would be if she just let the walker get her. One bite, and all of this would be over. She could see her mom again. _Stop it! You don't want to die._ She saw the decaying hand reaching her boot, but as soon as it grabbed her, did it let her go. Hannah looked up to see Glenn standing above the walker, his knife stuck out of the walker's skull.

"I thought I told you to stay downstairs," Glenn scolded almost breathlessly.

"I saved you," Hannah snapped back. She saved Glenn's ass but he still treated her like a kid. "If I had listened to you, you would be walker chow right now!" Hannah got up, her fury filling her.

"If I tell you to do something, you do it!" He snapped back at her. Hannah rolled her eyes and flipped him off. She went to leave the room when Glenn grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, you're not going anywhere!"

"Is that an order?" She sassed. Glenn stood there speechless.

Hannah rolled her eyes once more and shrugged off his hand. Glenn followed her out of the room. She stomped down the stairs and back to the kitchen. Glenn sat down at the table and gestured for Hannah to do the same. She did it, not wanting to piss off Glenn further.

"So, we're gonna sit here and talk," he said. The words sounded rehearsed. Suddenly, it clicked, the reason he invited her along instead of Maggie.

"You planned this," she clued in.

"You got me. I bought you out here to talk," Glenn confirmed. "Didn't count on the walkers though, but hey, one thing I've learnt is that not everything goes exactly to plan."

"Go ahead, yell at me," she shrugged. She didn't care anymore.

"That's not why I brought you here, Hannah," he told her. "You're scaring the hell out of me." She tilted her head in confusion. "The way you've been acting lately… the way you've been treating your dad… I just wanna know why."

"Why?" She asked, another bubble of rage built up. "Because he's alive and she's dead! Because he told me he was going to bring her back and he didn't! Because I _blame_ him!"

"Shane killed your mom, not Daryl," he reminded. "And if you wanna blame Daryl because he didn't bring your mom back, you're gonna have to blame me too. He wasn't the only one who went out to look for her. Rick went, so did I. By the time we got there, it was too late." She couldn't look him. "What happened to your mom was tragic, but it wasn't his fault. The only person you should blame is Shane."

"Shane's dead, what's the point of hating someone who's already gone?" She asked. "It's easier to hate my dad. He left my mom before I was born. When he found out about me, he never tried. He never loved my mom."

"That's not true," he told her. "He did love her. If you would open your eyes and look, you'd see that he's just as wrecked as you are. He held your mom when she died. He calls her name out when he's asleep. Just because you couldn't see it, doesn't mean it wasn't there."

Hannah stayed quiet and let Glenn continue to speak. "Look, I'm not asking you to get over Charlotte because I know that's a selfish thing to ask. I'm just asking for you to forgive him. Daryl didn't bring your mom back, not because he didn't try but because there was nothing he could do. He tried so damn hard to bring her back. We both did, but she was gone the second we found her.

"This anger you have, it's gonna get you killed," he told her. "I loved Charlotte, she was my family, _you're_ my family. I can't lose you too." She didn't want to lose him either. She thought back to the walker, how she almost let it get her. For just a second she'd actually wanted to die. She just never realized what her dying would do to the people she loved.

 **I hope you liked it! Also, for any Supernatural fans out there, my best friend just posted the first chapter of her fic called This is Gospel by La Menoir. It is absolutely fantastic and I encourage you all to check it out!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Three weeks later_

Her conversation with Glenn stuck with her over the next days. She still couldn't bring herself to talk to her father, but she did apologize to Carol and Lori. What she'd said, especially bringing up Sophia was uncalled for.

" _I don't hate you. I don't blame you,"_ Carol had said. _"I know what happened to Sophia wasn't your fault."_

Hannah was starting to make amends with people in the group. She'd had so many outbursts before that she had a lot to make up for. Still, she avoided Daryl. Even if Glenn was right, even if Daryl really did love her mom, it still didn't make up for the fact that a part of her had trouble letting the anger go. A part of her still blamed him. It felt like her mind was constantly at war with itself. It was easier to let herself be angry at him.

She woke up that day to Glenn shaking her awake. She opened her eyes to see him grinning like mad. Hannah slipped in her implant and gave him a curious look. He went over to Carl, quietly hopping over the sleeping members of the group, and started doing the same thing.

"Glenn, what's happening?" She whispered. He turned back towards her, his smile still wide.

"It snowed," he explained. "C'mon, Maggie and Beth are already outside." She gave Carl a strange look and shrugged before grabbing her jacket, hat, and boots, following Glenn outside. She made sure to pull the beanie over her ears, keeping the implants covered.

Hannah was caught off guard by the amount of fluffy white snow. Just a few days ago, the grass was green, now a decently thick layer of white covered the ground. Big fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky.

The first snowball came soaring at them the second they exited the small cabin. It got Carl right in the sheriffs hat, knocking it flat off of his head. Hannah scanned the tree line, trying to spot Maggie and Beth. Glenn had vanished too. Carl and Hannah exchanged glances.

"Now what?" He asked, she shrugged. They weren't exactly sure how to go about this. Another snowball came soaring threw the air and hit Hannah square in the face. Luckily, the snow wasn't hard enough to do any real damage, it just covered her face it cold water.

"Okay, this means war," she stated, bending over to make a snowball. She threw it into the tree line, only to see Glenn, Maggie, and Beth coming out. Carl made a snowball and threw it, narrowly missing Glenn's shoulder.

"You gotta aim better," Hannah told him. She made another snowball and threw it, hitting Maggie square in the chest.

Hannah was ginning as the snowball fight continued. At some point, Glenn had dragged Maggie to the ground. Beth had fallen to to the ground and was now making snow angels. Carl and Hannah kept throwing snowballs at each other, smiling the whole time. She'd forgotten what it was like to even have fun. Carl charged towards her, tackling her. They landed with a huff into the cold embrace of snow. She started laughing loudly as Carl landed next to her. She stuck her tongue out, catching the snowflakes. It felt peaceful for once. She looked over at Carl, who was looking at her, and smiled. His big blue eyes were filled with joy, something she hadn't seen in him since the quarry. Her heart flooded with gratitude. She looked back up at the sky and started laughing once more.

"What's so funny?" Carl asked.

"I dunno, just… the world's gone but we're still playing in the snow," she laughed. "I wonder if we missed Christmas. I always loved Christmas."

"I dunno. I lost track of months when this whole thing started," he stated.

Hannah wondered if they were getting close to March. She wasn't sure, based on the fact that this was the first snowfall. Then again, Georgia wasn't exactly known for it's heavy winters. Laying in the snow, she couldn't help but think of her mom. Whenever the first snowfall occurred, Hannah had vivd memories of her mom dragging her outside. They'd build a snowman, and play outside for hours and come back to hot chocolate and movies. Those were some of her favourite days. Now, all they did was haunt her. They filled her heart with a crippling grief.

"I think it might be January," she decided trying to push the memories aside.

"What makes you say that?" Carl asked.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "It's been what, over three months since the farm?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"It was getting cold when we were there. The leaves were changing colour, just like they did every October. Which means it has to be around January," Hannah deduced.

"Nice detective skills _Nancy Drew_ ," he teased.

"Shut up," she laughed. "I'm serious."

"You know, if it's January, means it's my birthday," he told her. She eyed him curiously. She was starting to get cold now. They'd been lying in the snow for a while now. It was sort of nice, just being the two of them. Beth, Glenn, and Maggie were still around but to Hannah, it felt like she and Carl were the only two.

"When's you're birthday?" She asked.

"January 16th," he said. "You?"

"March 23rd."

"I'm older than you," he teased.

"So, I'm taller." She had had a growth spurt the last few weeks. Now she stood about an inch taller than Carl. "And more mature."

"No you're not," he said. Hannah grabbed a handful of snow and jumped on him, pining him down.

"Say I am, otherwise you're getting a facewash."

"Never," he said dramatically.

"You asked for it," she shrugged before shoving the snow in his face. They were both laughing loudly.

"Fine! Hannah Connor is more mature than me," he caved in. Hannah grabbed another handful of snow.

"And she's taller."

"And taller," he repeated.

"And a much better shot than me."

"Now that's just a big fat lie," Carl joked. Hannah didn't have time to shove the snow in his face as her vision was filled with white. It was almost like being hit with a wave of cold. Hannah squeaked as she fell over, trying to wipe the snow off of her face. They both started laughing again, tears pouring from their eyes. Hannah laughed so hard that her sides hurt.

"Carl, Hannah, time to go back in," Beth said coming over to them. As much as Hannah wanted to stay outside forever, her toes had gone numb and her teeth were chattering. Hannah got up from the ground and brushed the snow off of her jeans. She held a hand out to Carl who took it to pull himself up. He put the sheriffs hat back on his head and the three of them headed indoors.

They'd found some tea bags still in the house. Hershel made each of them a cup to warm them up. Hannah sat close to the wood stove after changing out of her wet clothes. She sat across from Beth who pulled out a puzzle she'd found. Hannah looked over at Carl, who was back to his old habit of cleaning the guns. She sighed, opting to help Beth with the puzzle.

They spent two hours trying to put this puzzle together. They'd gotten most of the border, and about a quarter of the inside. It was supposed to be a picture of the mountains, a valley with a lake, and flowers surrounding it. So far, all they had was the blue sky, and some of the valley.

The longer they worked at it, the more Hannah got frustrated. All she wanted was to finish this freaking puzzle. Was that too much to ask? Was it too much for one freaking thing to go right in this world? It was a stupid puzzle. It wasn't rocket science. Yet, they couldn't finish it. _This is stupid,_ she told herself. She'd be satisfied if this thing was just done.

"I think we might be missing some pieces," Beth noted after a while. By that point, they had parts of the mountain and the valley done.

 _Great, fan-freaking-tastic!_ She huffed. Of course they were missing pieces, because nothing goes right. Not even a stupid puzzle.

"Why don't we take a break?" Beth suggested. She could tell how frustrated the younger girl was getting.

"Yeah, maybe that would be a good idea," she said taking in a deep breath. Her temper was on an ever short fuse. She knew Beth didn't do anything wrong, she just needed to calm down.

Hannah sat back in the couch and watched as Beth started playing with her blonde hair. The older girl expertly braided her own hair. Hannah realized just how much Beth reminded her of Amy. It was strange how little Hannah thought about her, or Jacqui, or Jim, or Sophia, or even Dale. She'd become so consumed by her mother's death that she'd forgotten about the others. She was even forgetting small details about each of them, like the colour of Jim's eyes, or the sound of Sophia's voice. The thought of forgetting them terrified her.

"You want me to braid your hair?" Beth asked, noticing how Hannah observed. She considered telling her no, until she remembered how annoyingly long her hair had gotten. Instead she just nodded.

Hannah sat on the floor as Beth brushed through the knots. Hannah dug her nails into her thighs to keep from cringing. She really should brush her hair more. Beth braided her hair to the side. It had gotten so long that even though her hair was braided, it reached down to below her chest.

"Wow, didn't notice how long your hair got," Beth stated. A lot about her had changed physically over the last few months. She had to start wearing an actual bra now. Before, it was the training kind, now Maggie brought her back a plain black size A one. Plus there was the growth spurt, and the hair. She'd had the talk when she was eleven, when things slowly started developing, still puberty sucked.

 _One Week later_

Okay, snow was only fun for about a day. After that, Hannah decided that it needed to go. They were on the road again, well not exactly driving at this exact moment, they were checking out a department store. They were in one of those big-town-small-city type places. The kind where it wasn't big enough to have a mall, but a one-stop-shop store, like a Wal-Mart but the knock off brand. Rick hoped that they could clear out whatever supplies they could, then they would move on.

Carl and Hannah were scouring through the clothing racks, while the others looked for any other supplies. Hardly anyone touches the clothes. She thought back to their conversation in the snow, about how it was most likely around Carl's birthday. She saw the brown sheriff's hat head down a different aisle. Okay, this would be the perfect time to start looking for a gift. What were the kind of things that Carl liked? Well, he liked guns, but that wasn't a gift. She walked down the aisle, towards the accessories. There were some nice watches, but nothing that screamed Carl. Hannah walked towards the front of the store, trying her luck at finding a chocolate bar. She could see members of her group in each of the food aisles. Lori and Carol were by in the hygiene section. She went down the candy aisle to find it mostly bare, except for a few packs of _M &M's _Hannah grinned, grabbing them and sticking them in her pocket. Perfect, Carl loved chocolate.

Hannah looked back towards the front of the store, where there were large windows showing a view of the parking lot. Only, it wasn't cars she saw but dozens of walkers. Hannah's eyes widened in fear. She started running back towards the food aisles. It was Daryl and Rick she saw first.

"Hannah? What's goin' on?" Rick asked. Frantically, she pointed towards the front of the store. His eyes widened, seeing the herd. "Shit. Okay, head towards the back of the store-"

He was cut off by a loud bang coming from their right as something dropped to the ground. Hannah, Daryl, and Rick all froze in place, praying that the walkers didn't hear. However, much like every thing else that's happened so far, luck was not in their favour as dozens of walkers began pounding at the already fragile windows.

"Fuck," Rick cursed. "Run!" He yelled as the window shattered, walkers starting to pile in.

Hannah felt Daryl grab her hand and pull her. For a second she felt like pulling away but her will to survive was a lot stronger than her anger towards her father.

"We have to help the others!" She yelled thinking about her family. Daryl ignored her and kept pulling. She could hear gunshots coming from various parts. It was deafening. Hannah looked over her shoulder to see walkers trailing behind, all reaching hungrily towards them.

They stopped abruptly, reaching the employee break room. Hannah felt the panic seize, it filled her every cell.

"C'mon! In here," Daryl urged, kicking open the door. Hannah ran in, her father following behind. He pressed himself against the door to keep the walkers out. Hannah grabbed the nearest chair and pushed it, so that it was under the doorknob, providing some sort of lock. Daryl stepped back from the windowless door. She watched as he moved whatever furniture he could to barricade the door. He stepped back, satisfied with his work. The panic and fear faded from Hannah's body and filled with dread. Not only did she not know if the rest of the group was okay, but she was stuck in a confined space alone with the person she least wanted to be around. _Son of a bitch._

* * *

Daryl took a spot by the door and watched as Hannah sunk to the floor leaning against the wall. She sighed and looked up at the roof.

"Now what?" She asked. "We just wait here?"

"Either till the walkers go away, or the others come get us," he replied. The room was painted a dull grey. He wondered how anyone could possibly find this place relaxing. There were no paintings, not even a damn motivational cat poster.

"What if they're all dead?" Hannah asked.

"They ain't."

"You don't know that," she told him worriedly. He didn't say anything because he knew she could be right. The others could be long dead by now. They were exhausted. They got sloppy.

Daryl eyed Hannah. She was getting better, at least that's what he believed. Whatever Glenn told her seemed to work. She still wasn't talking to him, making this the longest conversation they'd had in months, but he knew that at least she was trying with the others. He just didn't know where to start with her. He wished he could make her understand that he did everything he could.

They sat in silence, the only noise came from the walkers behind the door. It must've been two or so hours since they got trapped. Hannah was still staring ahead. He'd flipped the table so the legs were pinning the door shut, along with every chair in the tiny break room. He leaned back against it, his crossbow sat next to him. His eyes grew heavy with sleep. He still had not managed to get more than a couple hours every night.

 _He was sitting on the curb outside, a burning cigarette in his fingers. It was hot and humid outside, meaning it was summer time. Daryl brought the cigarette up to his lips, inhaling deeply._

" _You know, those things'll kill ya," Charlie's voice rang in his ears. He looked over to see her sitting there. He knew where he was now, he was back at the hospital where they met. Only, it wasn't a memory because she looked the same as she did that night at the farm._

" _Ain't much worth livin' for anyway," he told her._

" _You don't mean that," she told him. "You got plenty to live for."_

" _Why'd you have to go?" He asked._

" _I didn't want to die," she explained. "I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter."_

" _I'm sorry," he said. "I promised I'd look out for you. Keep you 'n Hannah safe. All I wanted was the two o' you to be safe."_

" _Daryl, I'm the one who went out into the woods. How could you've known?"_

" _I shoulda known," he answered firmly._

 _Daryl looked down at his feet in guilt. He could see her gun at his feet, if she had the gun, maybe she_ _'d still be alive. He should've been faster. Hannah was right, he'd broken his promise to both of them. Charlie's hand gently lifted his head so he faced her bright green eyes. God she was beautiful. She leaned over and kissed his lips._

" _I miss you," he told her once it broke._

" _I know," she said sadly. "And I know things with Hannah aren't going good."_

" _She won't talk to me," he said. "I can't do this without you." She gave him a soulful look._

" _Yes you can. You gotta," she started. "Daryl, I'm dead. I've been dead for a while now. And I'm not comin' back. You gotta move on. Please do that for me. Don't shut everyone out." He didn't know if he could. Daryl looked down at the blood on her shirt. She lifted his head once more._

" _It's okay," she assured. "It doesn't hurt anymore."_

Daryl woke up to Hannah staring at him. Her eyes were full of curiosity. He couldn't have been out for very long. He could still hear the walkers pounding at the door. She looked as though she might say something.

"Why did you promise me you'd bring her back?" Hannah asked. Daryl gave her a confused look. "You couldn't have known that she was gonna be okay. So why'd you promise?"

He didn't know how to answer the question. He didn't know why he promised her. Instead of answering, in true Daryl fashion, he shrugged.

"That's it? That's all I get?" She snapped. "No, I deserve some answers!" Hannah spoke loudly. The walkers at the door got louder.

"Keep it down," he begged.

"You know what, this is stupid," she snarled standing up.

"Yeah? Like the tantrums you been throwin'?" He asked getting up too. "You're pissed off 'cause I didn't bring Charlie back, like you think for one second-"

"No! I'm pissed off because my whole life, I wanted to know my dad!" she cut him off. "I'm pissed off because from the minute I met you, you acted like I didn't exist!" She was getting louder. Daryl could almost feel the rage rolling off of her.

"That ain't remotely true," he snapped.

"Screw you!" She yelled angrily. "Screw you! I HATE YOU!" She fumed. The words stung. He stepped back as though he'd been punched in the face. "Ihateyouihateyouihateyou."

"Why?" He asked weakly.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE ALIVE AND SHE'S DEAD!" She bellowed, angry tears falling from her eyes. "You're here and she's dead! She's dead!" It looked as though she could barely stand, like the wind had been knocked right out of her. She leaned up against the wall, the tears pouring now. Daryl stood there, unable to move. "S-she's gone. I just, I want her back." She sank towards the floor.

Daryl didn't know the first thing about being a warm and comforting person. It wasn't who he was, but he needed to do something. _C'mon man up, Dixon._ Daryl got down to the floor and wrapped one of his arms around Hannah and pulled her close. She sobbed into his shirt. Okay, this wasn't uncomfortable. He could do this. He kept repeating that to himself for as long as she cried. _I can do this._

"I-I d-don't hate you," she blubbered, trying her best to calm down. Her voice was hoarse from crying for so long. It had to have been at least ten or fifteen minutes. "I-I didn't mean it. I-I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"It's okay," he told her. She pulled away from Daryl.

"Did you really love my mom?" She asked. Daryl looked away. "Please, Daryl, I have to know."

"We were gettin' things on track," he stated avoiding the question. "Gettin' back together. We were gonna tell you after Randall was taken care of, but everythin' happened."

"But did you love her?" She repeated the question. Daryl hesitated for a moment. Maybe it was time he finally admitted it to himself. He couldn't tell Charlie, if he had it would've made the whole thing seem real. The more he thought about it, he began to realize that maybe having it all seem real wasn't a bad thing.

"Yeah, I did," he admitted. "I still do."

 **Man, I am on a roll with this story. So finally, Hannah and Daryl are talking again and they are making up, though they still have a long way to go before they start having that father-daughter relationship. We will be seeing a whole lot more of Willow next chapter. Anyway, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

It seemed like they'd been trapped in the room for forever. Realistically, it was probably only fifteen minutes. Hannah's tears had finally dried up. She and her dad sat leaning back against the wall. It felt oddly comforting to know that the relationship between Daryl and her mom wasn't one sided. After her outburst, all the anger she'd had accumulated over the last few months disappeared. For a while, meaning during her tear fest, it had been replaced by this pain in her chest. She'd let in all the grief and sadness she'd tried to push away the last month -since she started speaking again. God, it hurt so bad, it felt like she couldn't breath.

All her life, Hannah only had one constant, her mother. Sure, Aunt Willow had been there for part of her life, but she'd left. Her Granny had been there too, but she'd died. Jesse Ryan moved away. After everything, the only one that was constantly there was her mom. Until she wasn't. Hannah felt lost without her.

"I'm forgetting things," she broke the silence. Daryl eyed her strangely. "About the people we lost. I can't remember the shape of Amy's nose, or Dale's laugh. Am I gonna forget her too?" She asked. "'Cause I'm scared that one day I'll wake up and forget what she looked like."

"You won't," he reassured. "I won't let you." Hannah looked up at him gratefully.

"We can't just stay here," she said. They'd been locked in that room for what felt like forever. "We gotta move."

Daryl looked up towards the door, as though calculating what they could do. She could still hear the walkers pounding at the door. The others couldn't be dead, could they? Hannah remembered the pack of M&M's in her pocket for Carl. Her heart ached thinking that she might not be able to give them. Daryl reached for his bow and stood up. Hannah followed suit, keeping her gun in hand.

"We gotta do this smart," he explained while pulling the table away. Now the only thing keeping the walkers out was the metal chair. "We don't know how many walkers are out there. Could be one, two, or a dozen. We bottleneck it." She gave him confused look, not knowing what bottlenecking meant.

"I open the door but only enough to let one in at a time. I ain't gonna have much…" He was cut off by the sound of gunshots.

"Get down," he ordered. Hannah dropped to the ground. Daryl motioned for her to crawl over. She complied and pressed herself against the wall. He looked at her and put a finger to his lips. Hannah nodded, knowing that she needed to stay quiet.

"Daryl! Hannah! Open up." She let a breath out hearing Rick's voice. Hannah stood up as Daryl pulled the chair from under the doorknob.

The door opened, revealing Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, and Maggie. Hannah ran forward, wrapping her arms around Glenn. They were okay.

"The others?" Daryl asked.

"Back room," Rick explained.

"They're all okay?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah," Maggie answered. "T-Dog, Carol, Lori, Beth, and me found the manager's office. Dad, Carl, Lori, Glenn, and Rick got to the stock room." Hannah felt the anxiety in her chest falter.

"C'mon, we gotta move," Rick spoke up. "Walkers are gone, but they're'll be more." She gave a curt nod and they followed.

Hannah looked over her shoulder to see her dad following her. She gave him a small smile, as though thanking him. She wasn't angry anymore, but god did her heart hurt. She wasn't slipping into that dark spot she'd been in before. She wasn't numb, or angry, now she was in pain. She found the pain to be less terrifying than the numbness. At least now, she was feeling something.

The group left the death trap of a store. Their reunion cut short by the sight of walkers. Those stupid things always seemed to show up. Hannah sat in the backseat of the Hyundai. She felt exhausted. She took out the implants. It always astounded her how much background noise there was. Now, it was simply silent. She placed the implants in her pocket and leaned up against the window and drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, T-Dog was shaking Hannah awake and they went inside the small house. She slipped the implants back in. Apparently, they'd cleared the house while she was asleep. This was possibly the smaller place they've stayed so far. It was a little bungalow style home on a deserted highway. It was surrounded by a small clearing which lead to a vast forest. The ground was covered in a thin layer of white snow. Hannah set up her sleeping bag far away from the doors and windows. That's the way it always was; Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, Daryl, and Maggie always slept closer to the door. It made sense since they were always on watch.

She watched as Carl set his sleeping bag close to Lori. It was no secret that Carl wasn't getting along with his mom since he found out the truth about her affair with Shane, but he was still being protective over her. Even if it was from a distance. She still had the pack of M&M's. Hannah made eye contact with him.

' _Go to the kitchen.'_ She signed slowly. Carl was getting much better at signing. Hannah had been teaching him every day. Some of the others were starting to want to learn too, especially after she'd stopped speaking for a time. Mostly, they seemed fascinated by the idea of talking without words.

Carl met up with her in the tiny kitchen. The others were all in the living room, getting some sleep. T-Dog was on watch from what she remembered.

"Hey, what's going on?" Carl asked quietly.

"I have something for you," she replied. He tilted his head in confusion. "Since we don't what day it is, I'm declaring today to be your birthday." She took out the pack of M&M's and handed them to him. "Happy Birthday, Carl."

His eyes lit up at the sight of the chocolate. His smile grew and he wrapped his arms around her. Hannah felt the pain in her heart dull for an instant as she hugged him back. For some reason, there were tears starting to fall from her eyes. She couldn't hold it back as the flood of emotions came tumbling out. This was the most she'd cried around people in a long time. The thing is, this time she wasn't sure why she was crying. She hadn't even been thinking about what happened. It was like the grief she was feeling was a part of her. Apparently, spontaneously crying is a side effect of it.

She finally stopped crying and let go of her best friend. She reddened and looked away from Carl humiliated. Oh god, why did she have to go and start crying in front of him? Carl didn't deal with emotional outbursts very well.

"I-I'm sorry about that," she told him looking for an escape out of the room.

"Hey," Carl's voice stopped her. Hannah turned around and looked back. "Um… thanks." He held up the chocolate. "I love M&M's."

"You're welcome," she smiled. She used her sleeve to wipe her face. She retreated back to the living room and crawled under her blanket.

She could feel those pesky tears starting to rise up once more. Hannah curled into a ball, trying her best not to make noise. She wouldn't know though since her implants were out. Stupid crying. It needed to stop. She needed to be strong. Hannah wiped her eyes with her blanket and let herself finally fall asleep.

 _Four Days Later_

While the last store had been a deathtrap, they did luck out in finding plenty of food. Hannah happily munched on some beef jerky while sitting out on the back porch. Even though the bungalow was small, Rick decided they could stay here a couple of days. It was warm today, she could see the remaining snow melting off the tree tops. A few water drops fell from the roof and hit the part in her hair. The weather seemed to flip-flop a lot lately.

"What're you doin' out here?" Hannah looked up to see Beth standing behind her.

"It's a beautiful day," she said. It was more than that though.

"Yeah, it really is," she smiled.

Hannah's eyes subconsciously drifted to Beth's wrist. The angry red scar contrasted to her pale skin. Usually it was covered up, but Beth's jacket sleeve slipped down enough to to reveal it. _Don't stare,_ she could hear her mo chastising her. Hannah awkwardly looked down at her feet. Subtlety was never her strongest suit.

"You know, when I lost my mom, I wanted to die," Beth spoke. "Or at least, I thought I did." Hannah's mind drifted back to that house with the walker clawing it's way to her. Just for a split second, she thought about how easy it would be to die. She almost let go. Her face reddened in shame. She nearly gave into weakness.

"I don't wanna die," Hannah mumbled.

"I know. I'm not saying you do," Beth replied. "I heard you the other night crying." Hannah face reddened deeper, this time in humiliation. She didn't want people to know. It was bad enough she cried in front of Carl and Daryl, now Beth heard her too? She wondered if anyone else had.

"It's ok, you know. To be sad, I mean. No one will look at you different." Hannah looked back down at her feet, biting the inside of her cheek nervously.

"I don't wanna be weak," Hannah admitted. She'd been weak, she didn't want to anymore. "I want to be strong, just like my mom."

"Being sad doesn't make you weak," Beth told her. "Hannah, it's okay not to be okay all the time."

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"Because you gotta know. Because that pain you feel, I feel it everyday."

"Does it go away?" Hannah asked. While the hurt was better than nothing, Hannah could feel it in every part of her. The last few days, she hadn't wanted to even move because the pain was too much. "I don't want to be numb, but I don't want to hurt."

"Back on the farm, Andrea told me somethin' that I think you should hear too. The pain doesn't go away, you just make room for it."

* * *

The snow was stalling them. Willow laid back on the ground of yet another small hunting cabin. They'd stayed in so many the last month, they all blurred together. They'd been in this particular one for around a few days now. It was too cold to keep walking and it wasn't like Michonne's pet walkers could take a car.

"You know what I could go for right about now? A big juicy steak," she stated. Andrea laughed from the couch. She even heard Michonne let out a chuckle. "The kind with all the fixin's. There's this place in Nashville, best damn steak I ever had. Mm, it was soaked in this bar-b-cue sauce that left your mouth waterin'. Had mashed potatoes and corn on the side. That with a cold root beer. Damn heavenly."

"Sounds like it," Andrea said. "When I was a kid, my mom, in true Florida fashion, made the best orange cobbler. And we'd eat fried fish that my dad and I caught."

"Throw all that together, we'd have ourselves a five star bar-b-cue," Will added. Her stomach growled. They were running dangerously low on food. All this talk about meals they missed certainly didn't help the situation.

Will fiddled with her tags out of sheer boredom. She was tired, bored, and hungry, none of those made for a good combination. It was the quiet moments like these that she found the most difficult. Her mind started to drift off towards the places she wanted nothing more than to stay away from. She couldn't go back to that house, or to the farm. She wouldn't. Instead she tried to think of happier times.

Andrea must've noticed how restless Will and Michonne were getting. They weren't used to staying in one place for this long.

"So, it's warming up out there, my guess is that we can head out soon," Andrea said.

"We should head out in the morning," Michonne added. "Find some food."

"Sounds like a plan. Anywhere in particular?" Willow asked pulling herself up from off the floor. She followed Andrea and Michonne to the table just to the right of the fireplace.

Michonne laid out the map on the table. The black 'X's marked towns they'd already passed through. They were walking in a straight line down. A few times they'd needed to detour, narrowly dodging a steadily growing herd. They'd managed to keep ahead of it so far.

"We're about halfway to Cordele," Michonne stated. "But, if we keep heading in a straight line the herd could catch up to us."

"We could head East," Willow suggested. "Head towards Dublin?"

"Sounds good to me," Andrea chimed in. Michonne nodded in agreement. It felt good to have some sort of plan. "I'll take first watch."

"Wake me up at two," Will told her. "I'll take second."

"We'll head out when the sun rises," Michonne told them. "Get as far as we can before nightfall."

Andrea and Will nodded. Will went to lay down on the floor.

"Take the couch for once," Michonne said. "You've been on the floor since we found you in the woods."

"Michonne's got a point, can't be good for your back," Andrea chimed in from her seat by the front window.

"I've slept worst places, trust me," she spoke. "I really don't mind."

"Just take the damn couch. Goodnight's sleep'll do you good," Michonne countered. Will sighed and grabbed her blanket and the sweaters she used as a pillow from off the floor before laying down on the surprisingly comfortable couch.

"Remember, wake me up," Will reminded Andrea. "Two am."

"Will do."

She curled up under her blanket and fell asleep.

 _She was back home in Nashville. It was the tiny apartment she and Oliver shared. Will had just gotten back from a long day at work and was ready to curl up on the couch with Ollie. She unlocked the door, the fresh smell of lemon hit her. Today had been her husband's day off. Husband, she still wasn't used to it. Will never thought she'd be someone's wife. She and Raven used to joke about marriage. They would list all the things they'd rather spend their money on instead of a wedding. Trips around the world, fancy designer clothes, and shoes were all things that made the list._

 _Will dropped her keys in the bowl on the front mantle, just like she did every day. She hummed some song she heard on the radio. Something about being a bird_ _… it was stupid yet oddly catchy._

" _Hey babe, I'm home!" She called out. There was no answer. Will walked down the short narrowed hallway and turned right into the living room. "Babe?" Silence. The room was empty._

 _Today was supposed to be his day off today. She remembered because he was still in bed fast asleep when she got up. Willow even called him on her lunch break, he said he would be home. It was possible he went to the gym, or out to run some errands. Willow shrugged and headed to their room. She needed to get out of her work clothes._

 _Willow opened the door and felt a chill run down her spine. She saw Oliver standing in the middle of the room facing the wall._

" _Ollie, what're you doin' in here?" She asked. He didn't answer, he just kept staring. "Babe? What's goin' on?" She took a step forward and reached out to tap him on the shoulder. "Talk to me."_

 _Oliver turned around and she jumped back at the sight of him. There was dirt in his hair, on his clothes. Dried red blood stained his white shirt. His cheeks were sunk in. His usually brown eyes looked clouded, dead. Her eyes drifted over to the horrible bite mark on his neck._

" _Oliver?" Her voice cracked._

 _She screamed as Oliver lunged forward, snapping his teeth hungrily. She stumbled back and hit two more bodies. She turned around to see Charlotte and Hannah standing there. Each sported an identical bite mark to Oliver. Hannah_ _'s eyes were clouded over, blood dripped down from her lips. Charlotte snarled snapped her teeth hungrily._

" _No," she breathed falling to the ground. She scrambled back hitting the wall. Sobs racked her chest. "No no no no no!"_

 _Charlotte, Hannah, and Oliver closed in on her. The stench of death stung her nose. She let out one loud blood curling scream as her loved ones pounced on her._

Willow woke up to someone shaking her. Her anxiety grew and for a second she saw the decaying hand on her shoulder. It didn't last long as she looked up and saw Andrea's concerned eyes.

"W-What time is it?" She asked.

"Two. It's your watch," Andrea replied.

"Oh, right," she said. Willow sat up on the couch.

"Is everything okay?" Andrea asked. "Seemed like you were havin' one hell of a nightmare." Will got flashes of Oliver's clouded eyes and shuddered.

"Yeah, just a nightmare," she agreed. Willow could feel the headache starting. She pinched the bridge of her nose and got up. She picked up her machete off the ground.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not a chance," she answered. "Get some sleep, we got a long walk tomorrow." Andrea nodded and took Will's spot on the couch.

Willow sat staring out the window. She could still see the blood dripping from Hannah's mouth, Charlotte's clouded eyes, the bite on Oliver's neck… all of it. She'd had this dream before, although it was always just Oliver. Now Charlotte and Hannah too? What the hell was her brain trying to tell her? Seeing Ollie made sense, it was her grief and her guilt that would come pouring out. But seeing her sister and niece dead? That was twelve kinds of screwed up.

 _You know why dumbass,_ the pesky voice in the back of her head told her.

She did know why, it was her brain telling her she was being an idiot. Over the last few days especially, Willow's curiosity about her family grew. Perhaps, it was because she'd been stuck inside the cabin for so long, but she was starting to change her mind on some things. Will sat back and tried to forget her dream. There were no walkers, minus Michonne's pets that were tied to a tree outside the cabin.

Will stayed on watch until the sun started peaking over the horizon. She let Michonne sleep, since she knew the woman slept as little as she did. This seemed to be the first night Michonne actually had a full night's course, she was the first awake.

"You didn't wake me up," Michonne accused.

"It was quiet, 'sides, you looked damn peaceful. Didn't wanna wake you," Will explained.

"Next time, wake me," she stated. "Last thing we need is you gettin' exhausted."

"I'm fine," Will countered.

"Nightmares starting again?" Michonne asked. Will looked down at her feet. "Yeah, that's what I thought." The nightmares never left, she just got better at hiding when she had them.

"We should get Andrea and hit the road. We're burnin' daylight," she said getting up from the chair.

A few hours later, they were walking once more. Even though the sun was beating down on them, it was still cold. Willow found a grey corduroy jacket about a month before. It was somewhat light, which meant she wore a hoodie underneath. Her long blonde hair was tucked under the black hood. She wore fingerless gloves, they kept her hands warm yet still made it easy to wield her machete without it slipping from her hands.

They walked in silence, just like they always did. Based on the where the sun stood, Will guessed it was midday, which meant they only had about five more hours of sunlight. No matter how hard she tried, Willow couldn't help but think back to her nightmare. Charlotte and Hannah, they could be dead. Then again, they could be alive.

 _Family always has your back._ Andrea's voice rang in her mind.

 _What the fuck's wrong with you?_ The question echoed.

 _You wanna leave? Go! Get out!_ Those were the last words Charlotte ever said to her. And she left, she ran far away from her family. Her intentions were pure, she wanted her husband. Now, looking back, she should've fought harder for her sister, or maybe she shouldn't have been so pig headed. Andrea was kind and they were friends. Willow had trouble remembering the names of the group on the farm, but maybe she was wrong about them.

Willow walked next to Andrea, Michonne was a few steps back with her pets. They were walking into a small town. Hopefully, they could find some supplies here. They were on the main road, yet still in proximity to the forest. On the right, Will could see the woods in between the buildings. The longer she walked, the more she thought about her family. She had to know the truth.

"I know I said not to talk about Charlotte and Hannah, but I gotta know," she said.

Andrea look over at her proudly. "Finally."

"They alive?" She asked cautiously.

"The night we lost the farm," Andrea started. "Something happened. The day we lost Sophia, Charlotte went into town with Rick, Glenn, and Hershel. They were attacked but came back with a kid named Randall." Willow listened intently. "The group he was with… they weren't good people. And we were gonna kill him, until Dale and Charlotte spoke up. Dale died, and we were gonna let Randall go. Then he broke out. Charlotte and Shane went after him."

"Is she okay?" Willow asked. "And Hannah?"

"Hannah's alive, I saw her get off the farm," Andrea said. Willow felt the relief spread through her.

"And Charlotte?" She and Andrea stopped in the road. Michonne stopped as well, she sensed that they needed a minute. "Is she alive?!" She was getting louder with every word.

"I can't…" Andrea drifted off, her eyes widened in fear looking behind her. Cautiously, Willow turned around to see hundreds of walkers spilling out from the woods.

"Shit!" She heard Michonne curse.

"Run! Run!" Will screamed as she bolted down the street.

Will let her instincts take over as she kept running. Everything blurred around her. A walker came in front of her, Willow raised her her machete and brought it down on its head. She tumbled over and crashed on the hard cement. The wind got knocked right out of her.

"Ugh, fuck," she cursed, gasping for air. She rolled over, feeling a pain in her right shoulder. She pulled the machete from the walkers head. She stood up and threw a quick look behind her. She could see a herd of walkers coming towards her.

She took off again, not sparing a second thought about it. She didn't know where she was running, she just had to get away from the herd. It was like flipping a switch. One second, she was almost the Willow from before. The next, she slipped back into the less than human thing.

Run.

Survive.

Breath in.

Breath out.

 **Well then, now Willow is back on her own. I have plenty in store for her, Hannah, and the rest of the group. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please tell me what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Three weeks later_

Daryl walked through the store with T-Dog covering him. They were raiding the downtown of a small townie the middle of Georgia. They'd run into a few walkers, but nothing they couldn't handle. The rest of the group, meaning Hannah, Carl, Beth, Lori, Carol, and Hershel, remained in the doctor's office they'd cleared on the other side of town. It was good because it gave Hershel a chance to properly examine Lori, whose baby bump grew steadily bigger.

There wasn't much left in the hunting store. Daryl knew that there wouldn't be, but it didn't hurt to check. He motioned for T-Dog to check the next aisle over. He found a few boxes of ammo, but not much. Most of what was left was hunting apparel. Of course, if the end of the world hits, the first place people go to is the place where they can get weapons to protect themselves. He huffed in annoyance as he made his way down yet another nearly empty aisle.

The store gave off a rustic feel. The inside walls were made of wood, a dusted fireplace was at the back of the store with a stuffed deer's head hung up. It was meant to be cabin like, but Daryl found it a little creepy. Hunting stores shouldn't go for the theatrics, they should be basic. The deer's glassy eyes looked over the store like somehow it could protect it. _What can you do? Your head's mounted on a board._ He looked at the watch Rick gave him. They were supposed to be meeting the others back by the fountain in the centre of town in fifteen minutes. Daryl found the thing to be impractical. Who in their right mind would think it was a good idea to stick a fountain in the middle of a round-a-bout? Just like this store, Daryl figured it was all for appearance.

"Yo, T, think we got all we can from here. Do one last sweep, then we'll head out," he called out.

"Alright," the other man answered.

Daryl went to the next aisle and grabbed whatever he could off the shelves -small knives, some rope, hell he even found a couple of silencers. It was closer to the back of the store where he saw it. It had fallen to the ground, given all the time that had passed. Daryl went over and picked up the crossbow. It wasn't too heavy, and just small enough that a kid could use it.

" _Tell you what, you become a better shot 'n I'll teach you,"_ That was the agreement he'd made with Hannah back on the farm. She'd become a pretty damn good shot since he first started teaching her. Now that things were starting to get better between them, Daryl figured maybe it was time to teach her.

He found a pack of bolts he knew would fit with the bow and headed back to the front of the store. T-Dog stood there waiting for him.

"I see you lucked out," T-Dog noted looking at the bow that was now hung over his right shoulder.

"For Hannah," he shrugged.

"You know, most dad's would just give their kids money," T-Dog joked. Daryl flipped him off.

"C'mon, we gotta head back."

The walk back to the fountain was uninteresting. They didn't come across any walkers. Rick, Maggie, and Glenn were already waiting for them, their packs full.

"Y'all hit the jackpot," T-Dog noted.

"Food bank wasn't hit as hard as we thought it would be," Rick explained. "Any luck with you?"

"Not much," Daryl started. "Most o' the store's picked clean. Found a few knives, some ammo, rope, couple o' silencers, and the bow, sides that, ain't much."

"Still, it's somethin'. C'mon, lets head back, the others'll worry," Rick ordered.

They got into the Hyundai, while Daryl took his bike back and drove back across town. It didn't take them long to get back to the doctor's office. He walked in to Carol on watch.

"Success?" She asked.

"Yeah. Where's Hannah?" He asked.

"Back office with Carl and Beth. I think they're playing cards," Carol explained. "She seems to be doing a lot better."

"Yeah," Daryl awkwardly said before heading deeper into the office.

She had been getting much better over the last three weeks. She and Daryl talked more than they had ever. Even then, it wasn't much. The more time he spent with her, the more he saw himself. They didn't need to talk much. He could see parts of Charlie too, like the way she smiled. She had the same facial expressions, like how her eyebrows would scrunch together when she was confused. For those first weeks, it hurt to see her, it reminded him of how much he'd lost. Now, when he looked at Hannah, the similarities didn't hurt. Those little things were the parts of Charlie he loved.

He could hear a faint laughter coming from the back. He was sure he almost imagined it. He walked past the examination rooms, which had been claimed by some of the group members. He preferred to sleep on the ground towards the front. He walked in to see them laughing playing a game of _Uno_.

"Uno," Hannah exclaimed in pride. "Suck on that Grimes." She grinned as she put down her last card.

"You cheated," Carl argued pettily.

"I did not," she declared. "Not my fault you suck." Beth was laughing at the two of them. Daryl watched with a small smile on his face. Daryl cleared his throat, making his presence known.

"Mind if I have two minutes alone with Hannah?" He asked Beth and Carl. They nodded and headed out the door.

Hannah looked at him curiously as Daryl stepped in the room. He still had the bow hung on his shoulder.

"Found somethin' for you," he said handing her the bow. Her face lit up at the sight of it. "I promised I'd teach ya."

"Thank you," Hannah smiled. She examined the bow like it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. "Can we start now?"

"Sun's settin' soon, we'll head out first thing in the mornin'," Daryl said.

"Okay," she sounded a little disappointed. He tried to think of some way to wipe that look off her face. That's when it hit him.

"Want me to teach you how to make bolts? Cause, chances are you're gonna run out of the ones I got ya," he explained. He'd been gathering the sticks for weeks now, ever since yet another one of his bolts broke. She lit up again.

"Okay," she agreed.

The two made their way back to the rest of the group. They mostly stayed in the waiting room. It was big enough that everyone could fit with ease. They kept a small cooking fire in a garbage bin, putting it out the second they finished cooking. However, right now, there wasn't any fire, just a group of tired survivors gathered in the old waiting room. He didn't really pay attention to what any of them were going.

Hannah waited impatiently as Daryl pulled the sticks from the quiver he made out of an old cylinder container and laid them out on the table. He took out his knife and Hannah followed suite. She listened intently as he explained in detail about how to fletch.

"Don't wanna keep it too long," he explained. "But not too short either. Won't fit that way."

She nodded and started whittling away.

She didn't get it on the first try, it was too short. Second time, a little too long. She managed to almost get it the third time. By then, they were running out of sticks. He could tell she was getting frustrated.

"It's okay not to get it on the first try. Hell, took me long time to get it right," he explained. "You just gotta keep practicin'."

"Okay," she sighed.

About an hour later, when it was his turn on watch, he could still see Hannah trying to sharpen her fourth stick. He couldn't help but smile at her. Maybe he could actually do this whole dad thing. Carl went and sat next to her. She put the stick down and she started signing. He knew that she'd been teaching the kid, and most of the others too. He knew he should probably learn too, since that was how she liked to communicate with people. More importantly, if she ever shut down like she did before, where she never spoke, just signed, it would be better if he knew. It's what Charlie would've wanted.

When he finally got off watch, Hannah was still awake. The others had gone to sleep. She had her nose deep in a book that someone had left behind. There was a dim light coming from one of the lanterns they kept lit throughout the night. She, like Daryl, had opted to sleep in the actual waiting room. Maybe it was because she had first dibs on the couch.

"What're you still doin' up?" He asked. She jumped slightly, which meant she still hadn't taken her implants out.

"Can't sleep," she shrugged.

"Gotta a big day tomorrow," he reminded. "You're gonna need your rest."

"Okay," she said. He noticed how she still signed when she talked.

"That means _O.K?_ " He asked repeating the sign.

"The 'K' is too low," she explained taking his hand and moved it up slightly. "You're actually signing O.P. like that. It's okay," she repeated the sign. "A lot of people confuse K and P."

"Tell you what, I teach you to shoot, you show me how to sign," he said.

"Really?" She asked excitedly. He liked seeing her face light up when she got excited about something. It was so rare to see these days.

"Yeah," he agreed. They had to start somewhere.

* * *

Run.

Survive.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Will kept repeating the words as she ran deeper into the woods. She kept track of the days by marking them on her arm. She found a permanent marker a while back and marked her forearm. It had been three weeks since losing Michonne and Andrea. Chances are they were dead.

" _Just like everyone else in your life,"_ Oliver spoke.

"Shh," she told him. There was no need the speak, didn't want to attract unwanted attention.

Willow kept moving until there was no more sun. She'd somehow made it to an abandoned road. There was an empty transport truck in the middle of the road. That would do for the night. The doors were open, so she climbed inside. There were old empty cans inside, meaning that someone had stayed there as well.

" _Probably dead too,"_ Oliver taunted.

"None of my business. There's a roof. Good enough," she told him. She couldn't see Oliver at that moment, but she always knew he was there. Always taunting her. Sometimes he walked along side her, other times he watched her from a distance. Sometimes he was bit, sometimes he had blood dripping down his shirt from a gunshot or a stab wound. Point is, he was always there.

She closed one of the doors, not wanting to cut out the fresh air completely, and grabbed her blanket laying it out. She wrapped herself in it, keeping her machete close at hand. She tried not to let herself slip into a deep sleep, that was when the nightmares happened. She'd watch everyone she loved get devoured and there was nothing she could do about it. No matter how much she fought, or how loud she screamed, Hannah, Charlotte, Oliver, Andrea, and Michonne would all die.

She tossed and turned, her stomach growling. Last time she ate was about three days ago when she ran out of food. Unable, and if she were honest too afraid, to sleep Willow sat up and leaned back against the wall of the trailer. She tried to never let herself cry. It seemed like the moment she would, Willow was afraid she'd never stop.

She left at first light the next day. She drew another line on her arm, day twenty-two. Will had no clear destination in mind, she just kept walking. She needed to find food, otherwise she wasn't sure how long she'd make it. She made sure to ration what little water she had left but she was running low on that too. The snow had all melted away, even the weather around her was starting to warm up. It wasn't quite t-shirt and shorts weather yet, but she was comfortable in a sweater and a jean vest.

A shuffling in the bushes made Willow jump slightly. She kept her machete at the ready as a small white rabbit hopping out from the brush. She salivated thinking how good rabbit would be right now. Willow holstered her machete and pulled out her hunting knife. She moved quickly, throwing the knife, nicking it only on one of its hind legs. The rabbit limped away. Will grabbed her machete once more and chased after it. No way in hell was it getting far. And she was right, the rabbit had only made it around the corner when she caught up. With a surprising amount of energy, Willow drove her machete at the base of the rabbit's skull. Its nerves twitched as the scarlet coloured blood stained the ground.

"I win," she told the defeated rabbit.

" _Oh yeah, dead bunny. Big win for Willow,"_ Oliver mocked. He was leaning up against the tree, his usually light brown hair was full of dirt making it two shades darker. She couldn't see any bite marks or gun shot or stab wounds. He looked like he had before they got separated.

"Shh," she scolded him. "It's food."

" _Mhm, d'you even know how to cook a rabbit?"_ Oliver asked. _"Or skin one?"_ She glared at her husband.

"A little optimism would be nice," she told him.

" _Hey, one of us has to be realistic here,"_ he said in his defence.

"You were a lot more fun when you were alive," she voiced. It wasn't that she didn't know Ollie was dead, she did. Willow knew she was crazy.

" _C'mon, make a fire and get that thing cooking,"_ he said.

"That's better."

Oliver had vanished at some point. That left Willow all alone under the small bridge she found. It was one of those bridges used on bike paths, making it easy for Willow to put up a makeshift fence on both sides. She shivered while lighting a fire. When she got that going, Willow took out her hunting knife, which she went back to grab, and laid the dead rabbit on the ground and attempted to skin it. She'd learnt how to a very long time ago and she couldn't quite remember it. Her dad used to go hunting a fair bit and was starting to take Willow along with him -after years of begging- before he died.

Willow was always much closer to her father. Charlotte was a lot like their mother, a proper southern belle. She'd gotten the brains in the family too. Will was never all that great in school, though she did have a certain knack for art -the only thing she and her mother really had in common- while Charlotte was much more practical. She learnt from books, while Willow learnt by doing. Willow was the erratic one, the wild card of the family. Charlotte was the good girl. Her parents were always so proud of her. Willow couldn't help but be a little jealous of her sister.

She'd never admit it to anyone, but when Charlotte told her family she got knocked up, Willow felt a cruel sense of joy. Not necessarily because she was going to be an aunt, but because finally, the perfect little child had screwed up. Looking back now, Will felt ashamed she ever thought that way. Especially since Willow adored Hannah. She remembered when she first met the little girl. She and Raven were on leave from the base -since they were stationed at Fort Benning at the time-. Willow had managed to convince her friend to come to Athens with her, since Raven had no other family. Charlotte was still in school, so for a little while her mother moved in to help with the baby. Willow fell in love with Hannah the second she saw her.

Will had somewhat successfully skinned the rabbit and put it on a spite to cook. The smell for cooking meat made her salivate. She wasn't exactly sure when to take it off but her hunger became too much. She pulled the rabbit away from the fire and started devouring the rabbit. She wasn't a human anymore, just another animal. The rabbit wasn't cooked, it's blood dripped down her chin. Still, it didn't matter to her as she ate every last bit of meat. She picked at it until there was nothing but bone. Once she finished, she tossed the carcass outside of her makeshift camp. She couldn't see herself, but Willow knew she looked like nothing more than a walker.

It was dark now. Ever since Will was on her own, she never knew how to keep track of time. The moonlight poured into her shelter.

" _Damn, you're lookin' rough chica."_ Willow looked up to see Raven Vasquez sitting across from her. Even with only the moon and the embers to serve as lighting, Willow knew instantly that it was her.

"Rae?"

" _The one and only."_

"But you died," she reminded.

" _Don't stop you from seein' your dead husband,"_ Rae shrugged. _"Speakin' of which, I thought we agreed not to get married."_

"I remember, travel the world instead. Screw a stranger in every country," she repeated. "Things change Rae."

" _I'll say,"_ Raven spoke. _"Lost all your sense of fun. Now it's all 'Run. Survive. Breath in. Breath out.'"_

"Like I said, things change," she leaned back up against the wall.

Raven sniffed the air, her nose wrinkling. _"Fuck Will, when's the last time you took a shower? Here I thought the cow shit back home was the worst smellin' thing. Cow patties ain't got nothin' on you."_

"End of the world," she explained. "Not like bathing's number one on my priority list."

" _Guess you gotta a point there,"_ she wrapped herself in her blanket. _"You gettin' chilly there?"_

"Yes, it's fucking cold. Not all of us here are dead," she told her friend.

" _No, some of us would rather talk to the dead than the living,"_ Rae countered. Willow looked away.

"I really miss you Rae," she said, her voice cracking. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I wish you were here."

She looked back to where her best friend had been sitting only to find the space empty. She choked back a sob and leaned back once more. She stared down at the embers of the fire. Will laid down next to the embers to keep warm, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning when she woke up, even though she'd hardly slept at all, she marked her arm once more. Twenty-three days alone. She walked down the bike path, sun was shining brightly in the sky. She came across a few walkers along the way, but they were easy enough to dispatch.

Run.

Survive.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Run.

Survive.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Will was no longer walking alone. Oliver walked beside her again. Today, he was sporting a gun shot wound to the head. He was whistling _Hound Dog_ , which happened to be one of Willow's favourite songs. When she was a kid, her dad used to blast it in the kitchen and he'd dance with her mother while Willow and Charlotte would laugh and start dancing too.

" _There all dead now,"_ Oliver stopped whistling for a second to remind her.

"We don't know that," she countered. "Charlotte could still be alive. Andrea said Hannah was."

" _And that was what, over four months ago?"_ Oliver said.

"Yeah, doesn't mean anything," she told him.

" _We were separated for what, a week? And look at what happened,"_ he reminded her.

"Please, just stop," she begged not wanting to think about that.

She pinched the bridge of her nose feeling the migraine starting once more. Truth is, she knew how to stop the voices. She'd known this whole time. Same way she did before. Willow walked through the main street of yet another small town. She passed by the local high school the chain fence surrounding it. She noticed how all the windows were boarded up and a turned over bus was blocking the front entrance. She saw a few walkers in the field, but none of them seemed to be too worried about her. She didn't worry about them either.

Will walked until the General Store came in sight. She kept her knife raised, her best friend and husband still chatting away. She opened the door to find the near empty store. She picked a few cans and an water empty bottle. Her last one had gotten crushed.

" _Workin' on our night moves_

 _Tryin' to lose the awkward teenage blues_

 _Workin' on our night moves_

 _And it was summertime."_ He was singing now following her down the aisle. Oliver was a much better dancer than he was a signer. Of course he'd chosen Bob Seger's _Night Moves_. The day he proposed to her was at Karaoke night at a bar. She'd been sober for quite some time at that point, she could handle being around alcohol without too much craving. She remembered how he went up and out of all the songs, he chose that one.

Will wandered down the aisle until she found what she wanted. She started at the remaining bottles of alcohol. There was one bottle of wine left, and one of whiskey. _So many choices._ She knew how to stop the voices, and this was how. She'd been fighting for so long, maybe it was time to stop. Her hand rested on the bottle of whiskey. Her favourite. She thought to the chip in her pocket. It took her three tries to get it. But she needed the whiskey. She needed the voices to stop. She stared numbly at the bottle in her hand. She was so tired of fighting.

" _Will, don't,"_ Olive pleaded.

"I have to," she told him. "It's the only way for it all to stop." She felt the tears running down her cheeks. "You're dead, Rae's dead, Andrea and Michonne, Hannah, Charlotte… they're probably all dead too." She turned and looked him right in the eyes. "Why should I keep fighting?"

The imaginary Oliver didn't have time to respond as the sound of screams echoed.

"HELP!" For a second, she thought she'd imagined it. Until the person called out again.

They were coming from outside. _What the hell?_ Willow almost ignored it, until the screams came closer. She could hear the moans too. A whole pack of them. She put the bottle of whiskey back on the shelf and crept towards the door. She saw two young men running down the street. They were still just a bit down the road, yet she close enough that she could see. One of them was carrying the other. He was carrying a baseball bat in the other hand. They both looked so young. She saw about a dozen walkers right on their tails.

" _You can't just sit here,"_ Oliver's voice said. _"Help them."_ He was right. She couldn't just let them die. She would save them, then be on her way.

"Ah, fuck," she cursed before getting up. She locked the front door. If she was gonna do this, she'd be smart about it. She grabbed her machete and ran out the back, general stores always had the same type of layout. In the back room there were always two doors, one to the side for deliveries, the other in the back for the garbage. She worked for a time at the store in Henessey.

Will ran out the side door and up the alley. The adrenaline pumped through her veins as she sprinted into the corner.

"Over here!" She called out to them. The younger one, the kid who was carrying the other one looked over at her and came running towards her. The kid didn't look to be over twenty. The other one was young too. He was unconscious. She saw the walkers following the trail.

"Shit," she cursed. She didn't think twice as she looped her arm under the unconscious one's shoulder and helped the younger boy drag him.

She led the the other two through the door she came out. She could smell the dead coming closer.

"Shit!" She yelled out as two followed them in. "Door! Get the door!" She ordered the other kid. She dropped the boy and raised her machete. She sliced through the skull no problem, must've been one of the first walkers to turn. The second one came up behind her but it was stopped. She looked back to see the kid had his bat raised. The walker stumbled back and Will raised her machete once more and sunk it deep in the walkers skull. She then ran to the second back door and made sure it was locked. There were a few palettes left on the wall. Quickly, Will pushed them and barricaded the door. She ran back over to the other door and grabbed the broom that hung next to the small office and stuck it threw the handle.

Willow turned back around and got a good look at the two young men. They had to be related. They both had the same brown hair, same jawline. They were both tall and lanky.

"Please, you have to help him," the kid asked as Will walked closer.

She could see the pool of blood that had gathered around the older one. She froze and pointed her machete at the younger one.

"How did he get that?" She asked. His blue eyes widened and he started stuttering. "Was he bit? Scratched? Answer me!"

"F-fence! I-It was a fence!" The kid stuttered. "H-He g-got h-his l-leg c-caught in a fence!" She lowered her machete and bent over to check the older one's pulse. It was still surprisingly strong. He must've just passed out.

"We gotta stop the bleeding," she told him. Being married to a nurse and the sister of a med student had it's perks. She knew her first aid. "C'mon," she helped the kid pick him up and they brought him into the actual store.

She examined the cut, it was deep. She knew it would've needed stitches. However, there were no needles, so sewing kits, hell not even dental floss. She wrapped the kid's leg up temporarily, until she got what she needed. There was only one thing left that she could do.

"Hey kid," she caught the younger one's attention. "See if you can find a metal garbage bin or a bucket."

"W-Why?" He asked.

"Cause we're gonna need a fire, and I don't wanna burn the whole place down," she explained. The younger one nodded and started off. He turned back around.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Willow," she introduced. "You?"

"Casey," he replied almost nervously. "And that's my brother Eli." She was right, they were related.

Will found whatever she could to burn. She just needed enough to heat up her knife. Casey came back a few minutes later with a large metal bucket. Willow started a small fire and placed her machete on top.

"Casey, back right of the store, there's a bottle of whiskey on the shelf. I need you to grab it," she told him. The kid nodded and took off. She'd almost lost it earlier. She touched her pocket, making sure the chip was still there.

Once her knife was heated up enough, and Casey had come back with the bottle, she set off to work. First thing she did was unwrap the leg and pour the alcohol on it. Eli cried out in pain.

"You got something he can bite down on?" Will asked. Casey shook his head. "There should be a piece of cloth in my bag. Not ideal, but it'll do." Casey handed her the piece of cloth and she shoved it in Eli's mouth. "I'm gonna need you to hold him down, got it?"

Casey swallowed nervously but nodded.

Willow grabbed the machete and brought it to Eli's leg.

"Sorry Eli but this is gonna hurt," she warned the older boy.

"Hey, what're you-" Casey was interrupted by the sound of sizzling skin as Willow pressed the flat part of the blade down. Eli's body jerked as he screamed through the piece of cloth. She lifted it up and then pressed it down again.

Eli's body kept moving, making it difficult for Will to shut the wound.

"Hold him down!" She barked. Casey was pale, he looked as though he was about to pass out any second now. "Hey! You wanna save your brother? Get it together!" He nodded and tightened his grip on Eli.

Willow repeated this a few more times, until there was no bleeding. She made sure never to press the blade too hard as to not burn off the still healthy skin. By the third time Eli had passed out from the pain. She had Casey constantly checking his pulse, making sure it was still there. When she finished, she doused the cut with some more of the whiskey to keep it from getting infected. Will then wrapped up the leg in bandage made from one of her's extra shirts. Eli and Casey didn't have any packs on them when she found them.

"We'll have to keep and eye on that leg, make sure it doesn't get infected," she told Casey, whose knees were up to his chest.

"Thank you," he said weakly. "You saved us."

Will shrugged. "How old are you kid?"

"Sixteen," he said. _Jesus Christ, he's barely older than Hannah._

"Your brother?"

"T-Twenty."

"Where're you both headin'?" She asked.

"H-Home," he said.

"Where's home?"

"G-Greenville," he said it almost hesitantly. She realized something, Casey was scared of her.

" _So, you gonna leave these ones too? Just like you did Hannah and Charlotte? Or Michonne and Andrea?"_ Oliver asked. She'd left the farm because she wanted to find him. She hadn't meant to leave Andrea and Michonne behind. She looked down at Casey and then over at the unconscious Eli.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Casey," she told him. "Not unless you give me reason too." He said nothing. Will got up from the ground and headed towards the windows. She drew the curtains, not before seeing a couple dozen walkers filling the alleyway. They were trapped. _Fuck._

After her close call with the whiskey, Will realized what she really needed was a smoke. Sure, it wasn't good to replace one habit with another, but Will wasn't addicted to cigarettes. She only ever smoked on occasion. Cauterizing some poor kid's leg, nearly getting eaten by walkers, and almost caving into weakness? Definitely was an occasion to grab a smoke. She ran out of her last pack six days ago and hadn't been able to find one since.

Willow walked up the the front of the store, making sure the door was still locked. She headed to the front cash and looked around to find one last pack of Marlboro's. She sighed in relief and took one out of the pack and brought it to her lips. She grabbed her lighter out of her pocket and lit it. She inhaled deeply, letting the sweet taste of nicotine in. Willow took a spot up on the counter next to the cash register. She looked out through the crack between the curtains. The moans of the dead still loud. Willow inhaled deeply once more and looked at the two boys. Casey was sitting next to his brother watching him like a hawk. Sixteen, Casey was sixteen years old, still a child. The other one, Eli, was twenty and wounded. He wouldn't be able to keep his brother safe. She couldn't just leave them out here alone. She'd already left too many people behind.

Her free hand instinctively touched the silver ring that hung around her neck. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Will took another deep drag off the cigarette and looked up towards the sky. _Happy now?_

 **Oh man, I've been looking forward to introducing Eli and Casey for a long time! I hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know!**


	7. Chapter 7

_About a week later_

Hannah huffed in frustration as she missed yet another target. Since starting the bow training, she'd only managed to hit the target a few times. It didn't help they only had a few hours a day they could practice since they had yet to find a place to stay more than one night.

"Reload, try again," Daryl instructed. She could tell his patience was wearing thin. Then again, hers wasn't better.

"You make it look so easy," she complained. Possibly the most tiring thing was the constant pulling of the rope.

"You wanted to learn," he reminded. "Reload, try again."

This went on for a few more hours. Hannah reloaded once more and took a deep breath. She pulled the trigger, setting the bolt free. She grinned widely seeing the bolt sink about three inches from the centre of the target. This was the closest she'd gotten since they started.

"Nice shot," Daryl complimented. She grinned. "Reload, do it again." She did it, and pulled the trigger again. It hit the very edge of the board. She huffed in frustration. If she thought shooting a gun was hard, it was nothing compared to this.

They went back to camp around a half hour later. They didn't want to stay out too long. Rick didn't want them to go out too far, not with the all the herds they'd been seeing form lately. A few days ago, they were in disgusting storage lockers when T-Dog spotted a herd. They managed to get away just in time. That seemed to be happening a lot. Rick was smart, he always made sure they got away. Shane never could've done that. He would've probably stabbed them all or shot them so they could be food for walkers.

Okay, so she was still angry. At least it wasn't towards her father anymore. This time they were staying in another office building. The second floor had been cleared. Hershel was the one on watch when they got back.

"How'd it go?" Hershel asked. Hannah just sort of shrugged.

"Comin' along," Daryl reassured. He walked back into the office and was talking to Carol.

"I'm sure you did better than you thought," Hershel reassured, seeing the little girl's disappointed face.

"I'm awful," she finally said. "I can't do it."

"I doubt that," Hershel voiced. "You know, when a horse is born, the first thing they do is stand up. Imagine it, bein' in the world less than an hour, 'n already needin' to stand. But it's the only way they can survive. You see, horses are prey." Hannah eyed him curiously. She wondered why the old man was telling her these things. "It may take them a few tries, but eventually, they get it."

She gave him another curious look. "Don't give up," he said. "Might take a while, but you'll get it."

Hershel was a very kind old man. He reminded her a lot of Dale which made her sad. She missed Dale, Andrea, Amy, Sophia, Aunt Willow, and her mom. Hannah gave Hershel a small smile before heading into the office. She saw Carl at one of the desks cleaning his gun. His eyes met hers. He put the gun down.

' _How did it go?'_ He was getting great at signing. It had become their way of talking without anyone else knowing. The others were learning, even Daryl was too, but they weren't as good as Carl was.

' _So so.'_ She told him. _'Anything happen while we were gone?'_

' _Saw a few walkers in the street,'_ Carl explained. _'I think Dad wants to go tomorrow.'_

' _Have you talked to your mom?'_ She knew it was a touchy subject. A few days ago, Lori and Carl got into a massive argument. Carl wouldn't specify what it was about, but Hannah thought it might have to do with Shane and the baby. He hadn't said a word to her since. By the look on his face, that streak continued.

 _The next day_

They did end up leaving the next morning. They were stopped in the middle of the road, trying to figure out where to go next. The only bright side to these, Hannah, Carl, and Beth got to stand watch. Beth covered one end, Hannah and Carl the other. They were always paired up. Hannah was beginning to think that she and Carl were a package dead. They always had each other's backs. It was a very bright and sunny day today. Hannah only needed her thick hoodie to keep her warm. The sun shined in her eyes, making it difficult to see. She kept her bow ready. Daryl suggested she still keep her gun on her even though she had the crossbow.

She and Carl stayed silent, determined to show the adults they could handle this. She tried her best to shield her eyes, but the early morning sun was too much.

"Hey, we're ready to head out," Glenn told them. Carl went back towards his dad. Hannah started walking away when Glenn stopped her. He took the white baseball cap, the one he'd had pretty much since the very beginning, off his head and handed it to her. She eyed him curiously.

"I saw you trying to keep the sun out of your eyes," he explained. "Go on, take it. It'll look better on you than me."

"Don't you need it?" Hannah asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine," he told her. Glenn put the hat on her head. "There, much better." She smiled up at him, finally being able to actually see without the harsh glare of sunlight. Hannah put her bow down for a second and threw her arms around Glenn.

Since the beginning of everything, Glenn had always been there for her. Back at the quarry she used to follow him around when she wasn't with the other kids. She idolized him. Glenn was the coolest person she'd ever met. The way he would go on runs into Atlanta, it was so brave. Then on the farm, he always knew what to say. Then, after her mom died and they had the talk, Glenn started wanting to learn sign too. His reasoning behind it was that there wasn't much else to do, though Hannah guessed that's why most of the others wanted to learn. Still, even if that was the reason, she didn't care. At least they were learning.

Hannah let go of Glenn and picked up her bow from off the ground. They both walked back over to the cars. Hannah got in the truck with her dad.

"Ain't that Glenn's hat?" He asked when she slid in.

"He gave it to me," she explained. "Where are we headed?"

"Headin' towards Athens," he said. "Haven't been by there yet."

"Isn't that where mom went to school?" She asked.

"Yeah," he grunted.

The caravan passed through small town after small town. Most places looked the same. The streets were deserted maybe a walker or two. The longer they drove, the more it started to blend together. However, it was getting late. They stopped in a town maybe a few miles out of Athens. Rick picked out a very run-down looking house. The windows were all boarded up. The front porch had a few boards missing. Hannah followed behind her father as Rick kicked the door open. Hannah and Daryl searched the top floor.

She opened one of the bedroom doors while Daryl kept his bow up, ready to kill whatever was behind that door. It was the smell that hit her first. Then she heard the moans. Hannah looked up to see a decaying woman swinging from the rope around her neck. There were two beds side by side. Her eyes widened at the sight of dried blood splattered on the walls. The words _'I'm sorry'_ were written on the wall. Cautiously, Hannah looked down at the beds to see two small corpses laying there. She thought she was going to throw up. The woman murdered her children and then hung herself. What kind of person does that?

"Go back downstairs," Daryl advised. She couldn't bring herself to move. She just kept looking at the blood splattered on the walls. _I'm sorry._ "Hannah, go back downstairs!" She looked up at Daryl, her eyes full of horror.

It came back to her all in flashes.

… _Teeth snapping hungrily, reaching out for her…_

… _Amy's bloodied body on the ground in front of the RV…_

… " _You lead us into a graveyard!"…_

… _The timer counting down. "You can't choose how we die!"…_

… _The hot pavement under the car on the highway…_

… _Running through the woods…_

… _Dangling walker. 'Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit'…_

… _Pink dress…_

… " _Still alive."…_

… " _You shot him! You shot my dad!"…_

… _Rainbow shirt…_

… " _Look away"…_

… " _Sorry brother"…_

… " _Where's my mom?" "I'm sorry."…_

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm sorry._

Her hands started shaking. She dropped the bow and stumbled back. Hannah leaned against the wall trying desperately to catch her breath. There were tears pouring out of her eyes.

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm sorry._

* * *

Daryl was in front of Hannah, trying to get her attention back on him. She seemed lost in herself. She was hyperventilating. He had to get her to calm down. Did he need a paper bag for this kind of thing? Where could he find a paper bag?

"I-I'm s-sorry," she said between gasps. "I-I'm s-sorry."

"Hannah?" He asked feeling the worry bubble. "Hannah?" She was shaking like a leaf. He never should've brought her up here. He should've just left her in the truck.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she repeated.

"Hey, don't be sorry," he reassured her. He was shaking her shoulders, trying to get back. "Hannah? It's okay. It's okay."

He kept shaking her, desperately hoping she'd snap out of it. She did eventually. Only, it wasn't the way he wanted. She collapsed in a heap. Daryl caught her before she hit the ground.

"Shit," he cursed as he lifted her up in his arms and carried her back downstairs.

Glenn ran out to get Hershel when he saw Daryl carrying an unconscious Hannah.

"Was she bit?" Carl asked nervously as Daryl put her down on the couch in the family room.

"Daryl, what happened?" Rick asked in a concerned voice.

"Is she okay?" T-Dog questioned. Daryl didn't know how to speak. He could just see his daughter laying on the couch, completely still. Her face was pale.

"Daryl, hey, breathe," Maggie spoke now. "Give her some room." She told the others. Hershel and Glenn came through the door. Lori, Beth, and Carol filed in after.

"What happened?" Hershel asked.

"W-We were upstairs. She was fine… then she started shakin', cryin'… s-she passed out. The Hell's wrong with her?" Daryl asked. He was supposed to be looking out for her. He was supposed to be protecting her. Hershel was examining her.

"She'll be fine," he told them.

"What the hell happened?" Glenn asked.

"She was fine," Daryl repeated. He was saying it more to himself than anyone else. "She was fine!"

"And she'll be okay," Hershel assured. "She just needs some rest. From what I'm gatherin' it was a panic attack."

"A _panic_ attack?" Carl repeated. Like him, the kid kept looking at Hannah's unconscious body. He looked up at Daryl. "How did that happen? What happened?"

"Walker," he said. "Hangin' in one of the rooms." He didn't want to tell Carl about the kids. Rick seemed to sense there was more to it.

"Carl, you keep an eye on Hannah, okay? Glenn, you and Maggie see what you can find. T, you're on watch." Rick delegated. "Daryl, with me."

Daryl followed Rick back up the stairs. He cast another look back at Hannah who had Carl sitting next to her. This place, of course she'd have a panic attack here. He knew where they were the moment they crossed the town line. Daryl showed Rick the room.

"Holy shit," Rick noted. Daryl picked up the bow he'd dropped when Hannah collapsed. He grabbed hers too off the floor. There was an arrow sticking out of the dangling walker's head. He'd shot it just before he went to Hannah. She was fine, until she wasn't.

She kept looking at the writing in blood on the wall. He told her to leave. Why couldn't she have listened? Why didn't she listen?

"C'mon, we'll lock the door down. Keep anyone else from seeing this," Rick instructed. "This town doesn't seem to be as bad as most places. We can stay a while, get some rest. Re-organize. We don't know what's up ahead."

Daryl nodded. He didn't want to stay, but if Rick said they were, then they were. The death room was the sort of room that locked on the outside. They checked the rest of the rooms, but found very little supplies. There were some clothes, toiletries, and an unopened granola bar Daryl found on a desk. Must've been before the mom went postal and killed the kids before killing herself.

By the time they came back downstairs, Hannah was still unconscious. The rest of the group was pooling the supplies in the kitchen. Carl was still sitting next to Hannah. Daryl handed off the supplies to Rick and went to her.

"Hey, Carl, go over to the others," Daryl said. "I'll sit with her a bit." The kid nodded and reluctantly headed over to the kitchen.

Daryl sat with his back leaning against the couch. Hannah was unconscious because he couldn't help her. He never should've let her come with him. He should've made her wait downstairs. _'I'm sorry'._ She kept repeating that over and over again. Was she sorry that she froze?

"It isn't your fault," he looked up to see Carol there. "I know that look."

"She was doin' just fine, now this?" He questioned. "She was back…"

"Just because she was starting to be okay, doesn't mean she is. As much as Hannah wants to be okay, she never had closure to Charlotte dying," Carol explained. "After what happened, we've been moving all the time. No one's had the time to really mourn what we lost. Hannah shutting down at the start, her being angry… it was the only way she could deal."

"And you're such an expert on mournin'," he retorted.

"Considering how I shut everyone out after Sophia died, and how angry I was at the world, yeah I think I have some experience," she told him.

"So that's what you think this is?" Daryl asked nodding towards his unconscious daughter. "Her not acceptin' what happened to Charlie?"

"When she wakes up," Carol started. "Talk to her, but don't treat her like she's broken. She's strong, she'd just gotta be reminded of that."

Later, when it was Daryl's turn to take watch, he stood on the house's front porch. Hannah was still sleeping. Hershel kept a watchful eye on her. He knew she was going to be okay, but that fear he felt when she fell, he never wanted to feel that again.

He looked out into the street watching for walkers. He needed Hannah to be okay. _Doc says she's gonna be fine._ This whole single father thing was difficult. He had to do it. He just didn't know how. It was going fine with the bow training. Sure, sometimes his patience wore a little thin, but they were doing okay. That part he could do. He could teach her everything he knows, but the rest, the emotional bits, were a completely different story. How was he supposed to talk to her about all the stuff he knew nothing about? Oh God, had Charlie had _The Talk_ with her yet? He wasn't sure he could do it.

Of course Hannah having a panic attack would happen here of all places. They were only a few streets over from where it all started. He thought back to what Carol told him. He needed to talk to her, really talk to her.

After his watch, he went to sleep, taking the spot next to the couch on the floor. Carl was sleeping close to Hannah too. The kid barely left her side since she went down. Only time he left was when Daryl told him to. Even then, he was reluctant.

Daryl woke up the next morning to see Hannah's eyes wide open, staring at him. He felt relieved that she was okay. The others were slowly waking up.

' _You…want…food.'_ He signed sloppily. Hannah had been teaching him a few words every day. It was always on the way to bow practice. Mostly because Hannah would get discouraged and be mopey on the way back.

Hannah didn't say or do anything she just kept staring. Oh no, not again. The last time she'd been like this was just after the farm.

Hannah remained still on the couch. This was a total and complete relapse to five months ago. Daryl wasn't just gonna sit around this time. It was time for him to step up, and he knew how to do it. Daryl got up and went to the kitchen. Rick was there, planning out what to do for the day.

"Rick, I gotta talk to you a minute," Daryl said.

"What's goin' on?" Rick asked.

"I was thinkin' about takin' Hannah out today," he said. Rick eyed him curiously.

"You sure that's a good idea? I mean, she hasn't moved from the couch, or said a word, since she woke up," Rick noted.

"I gotta show her somethin'," he said. "It's a few streets over."

"You know the area?" Rick asked. Daryl hesitated.

"Yeah, my hometown," he explained. "We won't be long."

"Okay," Rick agreed. "Be back before nightfall."

Daryl went back into family room and grabbed Hannah's bow from the corner of the room. He handed it to her.

"C'mon, we're goin' on a run," he told her. Hannah wordlessly looked up at him. She gave him a curiously surprised look. Daryl headed towards the door. "You comin'?"

Hannah slowly got up and followed him out the door.

Daryl kept a watchful eye out as they walked down the deserted street. Daryl felt his nerves skyrocket. Thinking about where they were going, he was starting to doubt. When he thought about Charlie, this was always the place he thought about. It was a staple of their relationship. Now, bringing Hannah here, it was hard not to remember the moments with Charlie.

"We're here," he said stopping in front of the very run-down hospital. It looked different from the last time he was here. They windows were blown out, gurneys and ambulances were strewn across the front. Still, standing there, his eyes went over to the curb by the parking lot.

* * *

Hannah eyed the abandoned building oddly. When Daryl said they were going on a run, this was definitely not what she was expecting. Would they go look for supplies in there for Lori? Glenn and Maggie were already doing a run to the main street. At least, that was what she heard earlier when she just woke up.

"You brought me to a hospital?" She finally said something. When she woke up this morning, all she wanted to do was lay down and not move. She kept thinking back to the blood on the walls.

 _I'm sorry._

No, stop, don't think about it again. She dug the her nails into the palm of her hand, keeping those pesky memories away.

"Ain't just any hospital," he told her. "I met your mom here."

Hannah looked up at the building as though it held a new sense of importance.

"Here?" She asked. "Mom never told me how it happened. I think it made her sad."

Daryl looked down at his feet in guilt. Hannah wished she never said anything.

"Can you tell me?" She asked after a beat. Daryl hesitated. "Please… I-I need to know. You said you love her."

Daryl sighed and then led her over to a curb. He kept looking around, making sure no walkers were around before sitting down. Hannah followed suit. Her hand instinctively went over to the locket around her neck.

"One mornin' I woke up to Merle moanin' on the ground clutchin' his stomach. Took him to the hospital. Anyway, he was gettin' annoyin' so I went outside to grab a smoke." He seemed to get a little lost in the story. Hannah smiled at the look on his face. "Came and sat right here. That's when I hear someone sit next to me 'n say 'You know those things'll kill ya'."

"That was mom?" Hannah asked smiling. She'd heard those words so many times in her life.

"Yeah, she was workin' here over summer. Started off at the reception then ended up in the free clinic. Charlie was the smartest person I ever met. I never got what she saw in me," he explained. Hannah shrugged. Her mom never talked about Daryl.

"If you loved her, and she loved you, why did you leave her?" Hannah asked. The question had been bothering her since he told her how he felt.

"I was gonna go with her," Daryl said. "Leave this place. Start over. Then, I got home and Merle was passed out on the ground. My dad always told me 'Family above all'. Idiot that I was, I listened. It was easier leavin'. Biggest mistake I ever made."

"And you never thought about getting her back?" Hannah asked.

"Every day," he told her.

"Why didn't you?" Hannah pestered.

"Cause I was no good," he said not looking at her in the eye. "I ain't a good man."

She threw him another curious look. "Yes you are," she assured him. "You are." Daryl was good. Her mom would not have been with him if she didn't think that. While Hannah didn't know Daryl, she knew her mom.

Hannah tried to imagine the day her parents met. She tried to picture how hot it was, if the sun was bright. Maybe there were birds in the distance, people walking in and out. The smell of cigarette smoke. She could picture it like a painting. Her mom sitting there, her hair pulled up like it always was, Daryl with his pack of smokes and sleeveless plaid. It didn't make sense them ending up together, and even though it technically didn't last, they still loved each other.

"So, you gonna tell me what happened last night?" Daryl asked. Hannah froze thinking back to the room.

 _I'm sorry._

"I'm sorry," she mumbled under her breath.

"Ain't got nothin' to be sorry for," Daryl spoke up. He must've heard her.

"That's what was written on the wall," she explained. "That's what you told me on the highway when mom… I'm sorry. When I saw it in blood… I dunno… I just snapped." She reddened in humiliation. Thankfully, if she looked down at her feet, her hat blocked his view of her. She shouldn't have said anything.

"C'mon, we gotta head back," Daryl told her.

While Hannah wanted to stay by the hospital longer, it was getting late. Hannah cast one last look at the place that really started her life before turning around. She didn't want to think about what she'd just told Daryl. Last night, she panicked, she froze, and she passed out. There was a lot of stuff she still had to deal with. Things she had to get over but didn't think she could. Hannah gripped the locket around her neck. She needed, what was the word again? Oh, right, closure. She thought she was doing okay, maybe that was all a lie.

They made it back to the house about an hour before sunset. Hannah could tell because the sun was behind them now. The days were getting somewhat longer now, Hannah thought it might be February. She didn't know why it mattered so much to her. What importance did it have knowing the months or the days?

Rick called for a meeting when they got back inside. The group gathered in the living room. Beth sat on the windowsill keeping a watchful eye out. Hannah took a seat next to Carl. Glenn and Maggie were sitting on the couch behind her. Carol and Daryl were off to the side next to Lori and Hershel. T-Dog sat on the floor next to Carl and Hannah.

"It's been about five months since the farm," Rick started. "We all lost somethin' that day. Truth is, none of us has had the time to mourn. Tomorrow, we hold a memorial. We get closure. We move on."

* * *

After Rick's announcement, Daryl turned to Carol. What Rick said, it was almost exactly what she'd told him the night before. There was only the two of them left in the living room.

"This your idea?" He asked.

"No. I might have _suggested_ that closure could help," she explained. "Especially with Hannah freezing up and panicking like that yesterday? It's the only way any of us are going to be able to move past what happened. The only way you are."

"I'm past it," Daryl tried to assure.

"You still call her name in your sleep," Carol told him. "You're not over it. This is your hometown, isn't it?"

Daryl stayed silent.

"Is this where you met her?" She asked. He hated when people kept trying to pry in his life. Carol was constantly doing that. She did it at the farm, on the night Charlie went into town with Rick and Glenn.

"Why the hell d'you care?" Daryl snapped. "What happened between me 'n Charlie ain't none of your business!"

"Because I care about you, Daryl," Carol answered. "Because you don't talk about it unless someone makes you. And no one but me is gonna make you. So, if you hate me, go ahead, hate me. But I'm not gonna stop, because you need to talk about it."

"What, like talkin' 'bout my feeling is gonna make a damn difference?" He questioned. "Charlie's still gonna be dead. Tomorrow, it's for Hannah. It ain't for me." With that he stalked off. He didn't want closure. He promised Hannah he wasn't gonna let her forget her mom. That meant that he couldn't forget her either. He didn't want to let go.

The next morning they woke up and had each a small portion of oatmeal. Daryl didn't eat. He wanted to make sure Hannah got plenty of food. After, Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, and Daryl packed up the cars. Rick decided that after the memorial, it might be best to head out. Daryl didn't question, but he found it odd since just two days before, Rick said maybe they could stay a bit. Maybe he saw something he hadn't before. Either way, they were out. Daryl had to admit, he wasn't complaining too much.

Though he wasn't exactly back in his house, Daryl still hated the town. The only good places here were the ones he went with Charlie. The rest of the town, his old house, where he and Merle used to shoot shit in the woods while getting piss drunk, it could all go to hell. The rest of the town was tainted.

The memorial was held in the backyard of the house. Daryl felt like Charlie should be someplace better. He'd left her body out in the open that night. They were going to bury her in the morning. Then the walkers attacked. The group stood in the backyard, Daryl a little off to the side. The only reason he was standing here was for Hannah. The entirety of this thing was ridiculous. There weren't any bodies to bury. Glenn made four crosses out of two branches and some rope. Charlie deserved better.

"I didn't get the chance to know Jimmy or Patricia very well," Rick started. "But I know they were kind and good people. If not for Jimmy, Hannah, Carl, and me wouldn't be here. And Patricia, she helped save my son's life."

He could hear Beth let out a very small whimper as she curled into her father. Glenn held Maggie's hand as tears started to fall.

"I think we can all agree, Andrea was one of the most determined women. She went through loss and came through it. She wasn't afraid to speak out for what she thought was right or wrong. She never second guessed herself. She went down fighting, saving Carol's life."

Andrea, they left her behind. They couldn't know for sure whether she was dead or not, but T said he saw her go down. Besides, it had been months. If they couldn't find her now, they most likely never would.

"Charlotte, I don't even know where to start," Rick spoke. Daryl couldn't look up. "She was my friend. I guess that's as good a place as any. She was brave, kind, 'n strong. Charlotte had a way of seeing the good in everyone, even when she couldn't see it in herself."

"She wasn't afraid to tell anyone when they were wrong," Hershel added. She sure as hell didn't. Daryl recalled all the times she'd chewed him out. The one that stuck was when she stitched up his side.

" _That hurt?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Good."_

She was never afraid to tell him when he was being an idiot. She was fierce. Daryl smiled slightly at the memories. This whole thing was bringing up the feelings that he tried to keep buried. After Hannah started talking again, after he started trying, he'd pushed away those feelings.

"And she loved," Lori spoke up. She never spoke up anymore, not since her Queen status was revoked. "S-she loved Hannah more than anything. The people in this group… She cared about us. All of us. She had this way of looking at a person and knowing. She was my friend and I miss her."

He could hear sniffling coming from Hannah. She was leaning on Carl. Glenn had a few stray tears falling down his face. T-Dog did too. Looking around, Daryl thought about the impact Andrea, Patricia, Jimmy, and Charlie all had on this group of people. Just like Dale had, or Sophia. There are so few people left. Even though for a long time Daryl truly believed he was better off alone, he knew that wasn't the case.

The group cleared out of the backyard shortly after that. Daryl remained, his eyes still fixed on Charlie's cross.

"You comin'?" Rick asked.

"Gimme a minute," he requested. Rick nodded.

"We'll be inside gettin' the rest of the stuff. Take your time," he said before heading away.

This was stupid. It wasn't like she was in there. There was just a cross. Charlie wasn't even all that religious from what he could remember. Still, there were some things he needed to say. He wasn't sure what exactly changed his mind, but he felt the need to say something. Charlie said her goodbye's to him but he never did. He didn't get the chance. She died in his freaking arms and he never really got to say goodbye.

"Charlie, don't know if you can hear me, but I gotta say somethin'. It shoulda been me," he told the empty grave. "I'd'a done anythin' to protect you. I let you down. It's my fault I'm here and you ain't. I went by the hospital yesterday, 'n I brought Hannah too…"

This was stupid. Why the hell was he doing this? Charlie was gone, not like him talking to a grave is gonna make any difference.

"Why'd you have to go in that forest? Why'd you have to follow him? You shoulda waited. You shoulda come to get me." He'd never know the answers. "I guess it ain't in you to do that. It never was. You always had to be the one to fix things, even when you didn't have to. It ain't fair that you're not here. I miss you, Charlie. And I…" He drifted off shaking his head. He could admit how he felt, but he still couldn't say the words. Those three damn words. It wasn't hard. Daryl huffed and walked away from the crosses.

He didn't say the words out loud, he never could. Not yet. But he could think them all he wanted.

 _And I love you._

 **Hope you enjoyed it! I got a new cover made for both Breaking Silence and Lost in the Whispers. They were made by my amazing best friend La Menoir (who is also writing a great Supernatural fic called This is Gospel). Anyway, tell me what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

If Willow thought she was getting cabin fever before with Michonne and Andrea, she was dead wrong. They'd been trapped in the general store for about four days now. Eli wasn't fit to move. He barely woke up, and when he did, Casey was the one who talked to him. There were a few times he woke up while Will was on watch, but she never instigated conversation. She was the one who checked on his wound, changed the dressing on his leg, made sure it didn't get infected. She taught Casey some basics, since he seemed very keen on knowing. She kept to herself. Oliver still showed up on occasion, mostly he was singing _Night Moves_ or for some reason _American Pie_ by Don McLean -which was strange since she knew Oliver hated that song. He only ever came when she was completely alone, meaning when her two new companions were asleep.

It was early in the morning. There were still walkers outside. She'd hoped by this point they would've lost interest. They needed to move. Will didn't like being stuck here. To combat her anxiety, she started doing a work out regiment. She did one hundred sit-ups, fifty push-ups, lunges, burpees, squats, anything really to keep her mind at ease.

"With all that, you'll be able to run a marathon," Will turned to see Eli weakly sitting up. Casey was fast asleep on the ground next to him. Willow stayed quiet. Neither of them sounded like they were from the middle of Georgia. "Not much of a talker, eh? I don't think we've formally met, I'm Eli."

"Willow," she said. "How's the leg?"

"Hurts like a bitch, but I'm alive," he replied. "Got you to thank for that. Casey told me how you saved our lives."

"You should get some rest," she told him. "Soon as you're good, we're headin' out."

"We?" Eli asked.

"Yeah, _we_ ," she said. "Casey told me y'all were headin' home. Greenville's far away, 'n on that leg… best I help you get there."

Eli eyed her with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. "Why?"

Willow shrugged. "Ain't got anythin' better to do," she vaguely said. It wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't the exact truth either. She couldn't exactly say that it was because her dead husband liked to remind her constantly about the people she left behind. Well, she could, but that might not go over so well. She wanted to appear somewhat sane to them.

"And here I thought all the decent people were dead," Eli complimented.

"I'm serious, get some rest," she ordered. Eli grumbled before obeying.

About two hours later, Will went to check their food supply, it was meagre to begin with. Now, it was practically empty. They had maybe a day and a half worth of food left. And that was only if Will didn't eat. She didn't eat yesterday either to make the food stretch a little more. Eli needed the most. He had to get back on his feet. She grabbed the last can of corn and divided it into two bowls. Casey and Eli were both awake once again. Will handed them each a bowl.

"Y-You g-gonna…" He stopped frustrated with himself. She noticed he did this often when he started to talk.

"It's okay," Eli would always say.

"Y-You g-gonna e-eat t-too?" Casey asked.

"Already did," she lied. "Go on."

Eli eyed Will, seeing right through her lie. Casey seemed not to notice and ate his food happily. Eli handed her his bowl.

"Eat," he told her.

"You need it more than me," she explained. Still, she salivated at the sight of food. She was starving. Her stomach was growling.

"Take it," Eli urged. Will took it and scooped a small amount into a third bowl. She handed the rest back to him.

"Don't need much," she said.

Will looked at the boy wondering why he cared so much. She was a stranger to them. Casey was still a little weary of her, but she thought that was mostly because of her holding her machete to his throat. She did apologize for that. The only time they really talked was when she was dressing Eli's bandage. Still, he tended to stutter a lot more. It wasn't all the time, just on certain sentences. Mostly, it was when he got nervous.

Will sat at the front of the store and kept watch. They were out of food, and were almost out of water. For a store there wasn't much anymore. Will noticed that when she first got here. It wasn't the ideal place, but it was all they had. Will could scour the other buildings in town, see what supplies there were. Then again, while the number of walkers had dwindled, she couldn't take them all out on her own. Maybe in her old primal state, but not now. She looked over at the two kids she was now stuck with. Things would've been a lot easier if she left them behind.

" _Left them behind, like you did with the others?"_ Oliver chastised. He was sitting next to her. She saw his beautiful emerald green eyes.

"Shut up," she mumbled.

" _Nope. For better or for worst, you're stuck with me, remember?"_ Oliver reminded.

"Here I thought it was till death do us part," she countered. She made sure to keep quiet.

" _Mm-hm, made sure of that. You know, I could just sing some more,"_ he suggested.

"Please don't, you sing like a dying seagull," she told him.

"Who does?" Oliver's green eyes were replaced by Eli's hazel ones. He was standing and had hobbled over to her.

"You shouldn't be standing," she told him.

"If I have to keep laying down… I'm gonna go crazy," he told her. _Join the club_. "I see the way you keep looking out the window to the back alley. Before I passed out, there must've been about twenty or so dead ones following us… how many are there?"

"Last count I did, I'd say about a dozen," she told him.

"We're out of food now, aren't we?" Eli asked. He winced as he put a little too much pressure on his leg. Will hopped off the counter and helped him lean against it.

"Yeah," she told him. "Almost out of water too."

"Then we should move," Eli deduced. "I know you've been thinking it too."

She eyed him curiously. "You're leg. You can barely walk."

"I can push through," he told her. "If we stay here, we'll die."

"And if we go out there, the risk of your leg gettin' infected's a lot higher," she explained.

"I know the risks," he snapped. "I was pre-med. I was supposed to go to med school in the fall."

Smart kid.

"Look, all I'm saying is I can handle it," he told her. "I just- I promised I'd get Casey back home."

She still hesitated but Will knew they didn't have much choice. She admired the kid. He was a tough one. After she got shot in the leg and was on the farm, she left before she probably should've. It hurt to walk, but she knew she could take it. She had to. And he may have made a promise, but she did too. She promised herself not to run this time.

"Ok," she finally agreed. "But we do this, we do it right. We'll leave in the mornin'. Get some rest, lemme figure out what to do." Eli nodded and limped back to where Casey slept soundly.

She got why Eli was adamant about leaving. She was thinking the same thing. They had to do this right. Will grabbed a map from the stand and laid it out on the counter. From what she could guess, they were in Wilkes County. Honestly, Will wasn't sure how exactly she ended up there. After she lost Andrea and Michonne, she just kept walking. She knew where they were because of the county map she saw when she grabbed the one from Georgia. Theoretically, it shouldn't take too long, but with the walkers, the very unpredictable weather, and Eli's leg? It could take them a long time. The ideal would be to find a car, but the street was deserted, minus the walkers. They would need to walk a while, maybe they could find a car along the way. That was her best hope.

Another concern for her was moving Eli. Even though he said he could handle it, Willow knew he'd slow them down. She looked around the store for anything she could use as a crutch, or even a cane. Her first inclination was to go to the toiletries aisle. Stores like these always had the basics of everything. Usually in small towns, there was a General Store and the main grocery store two towns over. People came to the General Store to get things to tie them over until they could make it to the big grocery store. Will dug around, even making her way to the employee break room. There was nothing. If they made it to the woods, Will could find a stick.

She looked over at the two sleeping boys and sighed. Her next problem, in her never ending list of problems, came from the walkers outside. They had to get past them. When she was with Michonne, they didn't have too much of this problem. She had her pets. _Didn't do much with that herd,_ she reminded herself. But that was probably because there were more of them then there were walkers. If they smelled like the walkers, they could distract them long enough to get away. Will remembered the two dead corpses in the back room. Okay, that was something she could work with. She walked back through the store. One thing people didn't take were table cloths. She grabbed three as well as a pack of dishwashing gloves, there were two pairs per pack. She went back over to Eli and Casey who were now waking up. Will could see the sun was beginning to rise.

"D-Did y-you g-get s-sleep?" Casey stuttered.

"No, but I got a few hours during the day," she told him. "Weapon wise," Willow started. "What do you both have? Casey had the bat."

"I had an axe, but we lost it running away from the dead ones," Eli explained. So, all they had was Will's machete, her hunting knife and Casey's bat?

" _C'mon Will, you know there's somethin' else,"_ Oliver's voice echoed. She thought to the bottom of her bag.

"Can you shoot?" She asked him.

"What?" Eli asked.

She grabbed her bag and pulled the gun out. She tried not to look at it, tried not to think about what it had done. What she had done.

"Can you shoot?" She repeated.

"I-I c-can," Casey shyly spoke up. Both Eli and Will looked at him curiously.

"Since when?" Eli asked.

"T-Tom and m-me used to…" He drifted off and huffed in frustration.

"It's okay, just say it," Eli recited as though it was routine.

"W-We u-used s-shoot t-targets w-with h-his d-dad's g-gun at h-his c-cottage," Casey explained.

"Are you insane? You could've gotten hurt!" Eli snapped at his younger brother.

"None of that matters now," Will snapped. "You can shoot?"

"Y-Yes," Casey answered.

"Okay, you take it, give the bat to your brother," she instructed handing him the gun. He made sure the safety was on before tucking it in the waistband of his pants. "You're only gonna fire if we absolutely have to."

"What are you getting on about?" Eli asked. They both gave her curious looks.

"'Cause, I've been figurin' out how to get you both home. First thing we gotta do is get outta here. Which is why I got these," she showed them the tablecloths.

"We're not gonna throw them over our heads and pray they don't see us, right?" Eli joked.

"Actually, yes," she said. Both boys looked at her in disbelief. "Cut a hole at the top. Then cover ourselves in walkers guts. We got two in the back."

Their expressions didn't change, Casey's eyes maybe widened more in horror.

"You're insane," Eli voiced.

"Probably," she agreed. "But this, I'm not wrong about. It'll mask our scent."

"Have you done this before?" Eli asked.

"Uh, well, not _technically_ ," she told them. "But the last two people I was with… they had walkers on chains. It masked our smell." _For the most part._ She didn't say the last part, they already had doubts.

"And where are they now?" Eli asked.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "We got separated. Look, y'all wanna try on your own, by all means, go ahead. But, if you wanna live, we do this my way. This is how all three of us get out."

The brothers turned away. She could hear the hushed whispers. Will took out her hunting knife and started cutting a hole to put their heads through. By the time they'd finished talking, Will had a hole cut in each tablecloth.

"How can we help?" Eli asked. Will smiled, she knew they would agree.

"Right now, I just need Casey," she explained. She turned towards the younger boy. "You're not squeamish, are you?"

"W-Why?" He asked nervously.

"Because your brother needs to keep his strength up," Willow explained. Eli looked like he was about to protest. "You do. I dunno how long we're gonna be walkin'. It might take a long time to find a car. Meantime, Casey, I need you to help me."

"O-Okay," he answered.

"Case, you don't need to do this," Eli told his brother. "Not if you don't want to."

"I c-can h-help," he countered in a determined tone.

"Fine, but I'm still coming," Eli declared. Will was about to protest. "I'm not just gonna sit here. I'll sit, I promise, but I'm coming."

"W-We c-can b-bring t-them here," Casey suggested. It wasn't a terrible idea, that way they could just leave from the front of the store where there seemed to be fewer walkers.

Casey's stuttering wasn't nearly as bad when she first met him. Now it seemed to be on every word. She wondered if it was something he had his whole life. Truth is, Will didn't know much about Eli or Casey. The former revealed he was a pre-med student, but even that wasn't much. Then again, they knew nothing about her anyways. It was better that way, less she knew, less she could be attached. She didn't want to make the same mistakes she did with Andrea and Michonne.

Willow dragged the bodies back towards the front of the store. She laid them side by side next to the very empty snack aisle. Casey was helping Eli over. He insisted on being around. He sat on the ground. She handed the younger brother the tablecloths. Casey looked at the two bodies uneasily.

"I did ask if you were squeamish," she reminded. Will took out her hunting knife and put on the rubber gloves. She went on her knees and drove the knife on the top of the stomach and dragged the knife down.

"H-Holy s-shit," Casey looked away from the gruesome scene. She put the knife aside and pulled out her machete. She slashed at the walker's insides, trying to make as much slop as she could. She did her best to look unfazed by all of it, but on the inside, she felt nauseous.

"You're certifiable," she heard Eli state from the chair. _You're not wrong._

"Casey, put on the gloves," she ordered. The boy nodded and slipped them on. "Okay, you're gonna need to coat the table cloths with as much guts as you possibly can."

"S-Seriously?" He asked.

"Yep," she told him. Will went over to the other body and started doing the same thing. She looked over to see Casey standing there, not moving. "Look, I know it's gross, but it's our only way out. Sometimes, you gotta turn it off."

Casey looked at her oddly. "T-Turn w-what o-off?"

"The part that makes us human," she said darkly. "It's the only way we're gonna make it." She went back to gutting the walker. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Casey drop the tablecloths and dropped to his knees.

Willow tuned out the sickening sounds of guts squishing as she grabbed one of the tablecloths and started putting as much guts on it as she possibly could. She tried to ignore the sound of Casey throwing up. The smell of vomit and rotting corpse certainly did not make a good combination.

"You're fucking sick," Eli chimed in.

"You've said that," she voiced trying to keep her own bile down. She hadn't eaten since the day before, Will had nothing left to throw up.

She stuck her hands in the dead body and pulled out a handful of guts. She smeared them on the tablecloth. She cringed sticking her hands back in, the sounds of blood squishing renewed her desire to throw up.

"Okay," she said after covering it. She tried not to hurl at the smell. "Eli, hand me my bag."

Eli did it and she put in on her back. She then put the guts covered tablecloth over her head and poked it through.

Casey helped his brother put his on. Shakily, he stood up. Eli held the bat in hand, leaning against it. Turns out, he didn't need a cane. He had one the whole time. Casey then put his on. She saw the pain flash through Eli's eyes.

"You're sure you're ready for this?" Will asked Eli.

"Yeah," he answered. "Let's go."

Cautiously, Willow unlocked the front door and opened it. She went out first, the bright early morning sun beat down on them as they stepped out into the streets. Eli and Casey trailed behind. They had to keep moving, there were only a few hours before nightfall. They needed to either find a car or a place to stay the night. She needed to redress Eli's leg.

There were walkers in the streets. Will kept her machete tightly gripped in her hand. They seemed not to notice the three were there. Turns out, while absolutely disgusting, covering herself in walker guts was an effective way to go undetected. She looked back at the two boys. Eli had paled considerably, his skin was clammy. _Shit._ They needed somewhere to stop, and they needed it now.

They hadn't even made it out of the town yet. _So much for getting far,_ she thought. She heard Eli let out a gasp in pain.

"Okay, we're stoppin' for the night," she declared standing in front of a large country-style house.

"It's barely noon," Eli countered.

"Look, we don't know where we're gonna be in an hour," she lied. She didn't want to say they were stopping because Eli moving this slow would most likely get them killed. Or the fact that he could barely stand.

"This place looks safe enough," she told him. "I'll clear it, we stay the night, find some food, water. We get our shit together."

Will shrugged off the gut covered tablecloth and tossed it in a bush. The brothers followed suit. She told them to wait outside as she did a sweep of the house. The front door was unlocked, which was not a good sign. However, there was only one walker inside, easy enough to dispatch. Once the coast was clear, Willow gestured for them to come in. She made sure the back door was locked. Casey helped Eli lie down on the couch.

"Casey, can you go through the kitchen? See if you can find anythin'?" Will suggested. He nodded and walked out. Will cut the wire from a nearby lamp and used it to tie the door shut.

Will walked over to the couch where Eli was lying down. The kid looked as pale as his white shirt.

"We shouldn't have left so soon," she told him. "I could've scoured the buildings nearby, we could've found food."

"No, we couldn't stay there," Eli told her. "Look, I can take it."

"We'll stay here a couple days," she decided. "Til you get back on your feet."

"No," Eli snapped. "No. We go tomorrow. I'll be okay."

She looked at the boy and shook her head. "I listened to you last night. You said you could handle it, but we didn't even make it out of the town and you looked about ready to pass out. We're not leavin' here."

"You're not the boss of us!" Eli exclaimed. He pulled himself up so he was sitting. "Who the fuck put you in charge? We managed just fine without you before."

She scoffed. "Seeing as I saved both your asses out there, you need me."

"Casey and me are going in the morning. With or without you," he stated. Will rolled her eyes and reached into her bag to grab whatever bandages she had left.

"Here, change the bandage on your leg," she said before heading off.

Willow grumbled as she walked up the stairs. She walked into the first bedroom and sank to the floor, leaning against the wall. She really needed to have the patience of a saint to deal with those two. Casey was harmless, but he wasn't strong. And Eli? His overprotective nature and his stubbornness would get them both killed. _Lord give me strength._ She could just leave them here. She should just move on. Oliver would understand. These two would get her killed. She'd fought too damn hard and for too damn long to just die now.

" _Mhm, you sure did fight hard. You fought right to that bottle of whiskey,"_ Oliver whispered in her head.

"Shut up," she begged. "Please, Ollie, just shut up." She

Will grabbed the pack of smokes and her lighter in her pocket and pulled one out. She brought it up to her lips, lit it, and inhaled deeply.

"Y-You r-really s-shouldn't s-smoke." Will looked up to see Casey standing there. She smirked.

"You sound like my sister," she told him.

"Y-You have a s-sister?" He asked. She froze, she hadn't wanted to tell them anything about herself. She slipped up. "I-Is s-she d-dead?"

Will avoided eye contact with him. "Dunno. Maybe."

"W-What w-was h-her n-name?" Casey asked. He sat down on the floor next to her.

"Look, just cause I saved you're life, don't mean I gotta spill my guts to you," she said.

"W-Who's O-Oliver?" He asked. Once again, Willow froze. "Y-You s-said his n-name in your s-sleep."

"You should go check in on you're brother," she told him.

"H-He's s-sleeping," Casey stated. She must've been upstairs longer than she thought. "I t-think y-you're r-right."

"What?"

"W-We n-need to g-get our s-shit t-together," he said. "I w-wanna g-go h-home. I n-need…" He seemed to be getting frustrated with himself. "F-Fuck! I-It w-won't s-stop!" He got up off the floor.

She didn't have Eli this time to tell him it was alright. Casey pulled his hair and was starting to curse.

"F-Fuck. S-Shit."

Will leaned back against the wall and took another long drag. The kid needed to let off some steam, who was she to stop him? When he started getting too loud, that's when she'd step in. Will wasn't the maternal type. When emotional outbursts like this happen, she's the last person to call. She took another puff. He was finally starting to calm down.

"You done?" She asked. The boy nodded. "You find any food? I'm starvin'." Once again he nodded. She got up and dropped her smoke on the ground and stepped on it, effectively putting it out. "C'mon, let's get some food."

They walked back downstairs to see Eli sitting up on the couch, trying to painfully pull himself up.

"Everything okay?" Eli asked.

"Yeah, all good. Junior here just had to blow off some steam," Will explained. "We're all good 'n calm now."

"What happened?" Eli asked Casey. His brother didn't say anything. He just shrugged and walked into the kitchen.

A few hours later, after they were fed, since Casey managed to find quite a few things left to eat, Will sat on watch. She had a chair pulled up next to the front window. The living room, which they'd decided would be where they slept, was a big space. It was one of those open concept rooms where the dining room table was towards the back, while the couches and comfy chairs, along with a massive book shelf were closer to the front. There was an electrical fireplace, which now obviously didn't work. The couches faced a large front window. Minus all the obvious renovations that had been made to open the space up, Will found that the house reminded her a lot of her home in Henessey. It felt old, historic, but still familial. There weren't any pictures on the walls, but she saw where they would've hung, as there were hooks still buried in them.

She'd only seen one walker go by the house but it seemed not to notice them. Will was afraid that after Casey's outburst earlier that maybe it had drawn a couple in, but nope. For once, Will seemed to luck out. She heard a bit of shuffling behind her and the of someone plopping down in the chair next to her. They'd set up two so that when it came time for Eli's watch, since he insisted on having one, he could keep his leg up. _Speak of the Devil and he will come,_ Will thought to herself as she saw it was Eli sitting next to her.

"How's it looking?" He asked in a low voice.

"Quiet," she responded, whispering. "I thought it was Casey's watch next."

"It is, but I was awake," he shrugged. "Look, I know you don't get it, but I just… I need to get Casey home. I have to."

When this all started Will had to find her sister and niece. After she lost Oliver, she had to find him.

"I get it," she told him. "I do."

"Casey was only supposed to visit for a couple of weeks," Eli explained. "I was in Indiana for school and got a job for the summer. Casey wanted to see the school and he was on break so he came. That was when the alerts came. I called our mom… she told us to get to Atlanta, that she'd meet us there. So a group of us left school."

"How many were you?" Will asked.

"Seven," he replied shortly. "Erin, Lauren, Jake, Kevin, Amy…"

"What happened to them?" She asked. It went against what she told herself, but maybe she was wrong.

" _You can't get by without people, Will. Not is you want to keep being human."_ Oliver was right. He always was.

"Kevin was the first to go. He got bit outside of Salem. Amy and Jake… they were killed by a herd just outside of Tennessee. Erin, she just… she gave up when she heard Atlanta was gone. Lauren… she uh, she died about a month ago." The way he said Lauren's name, laced with guilt and misery. He blamed himself. More than that, it was the same way she said Oliver's name. Eli had feelings for Lauren.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely.

"W-When I- we lost Lauren…" He was getting choked up. He cast a look back to his brother, who was sleeping soundly on the ground. "Casey wanted to go home. He thinks maybe our mom made it back."

"You don't?" She deduced.

"No," he said. "I don't. Casey's the only thing I got, but if it keeps him going, it keeps me going." He had a few start tears rolling down his face.

Will didn't say anything. Eli wiped his eyes and looked out the dark window. She started playing with the ring on her finger. Eli opened up to her, maybe she should say something.

"I got an older sister," Will told him. "A niece too."

"Are they dead?" Eli asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Last I heard, Hannah, my niece, was alive. Charlotte… I dunno. I don't like to think about it."

"Why aren't you looking for them?" Eli asked.

"Did the stutterin' start before or after the end?" Will asked dodging the question.

"After," Eli said. He could tell she didn't want to talk about it. "It started about four months ago… he went really quiet for a long time after Jake and Amy. Then Erin… it happened in front of us. It's rare, but sometimes when someone experiences trauma, it causes them to stutter."

"How d'you know all that?" Will asked.

He smiled at her cockily. "I'm really smart. Got into Notre-Dame on a full ride."

"Damn," she complimented.

He leaned back in the chair and huffed. "Casey doesn't want to leave without you. And, honestly, I don't either. We're better off with you."

She was caught off guard by this. "That's not what you said earlier."

"Yeah, well, that was me just being frustrated," Eli spoke. "I just…"

"You wanna get your brother home," she finished. "You've said that. I promise, I'll get you both to Greenville, but we gotta work together. If you think you can handle it, I need to trust that. But if I say to stop, we stop. Deal?" She held out her hand for him to shake on it.

Eli hesitated for a second before shaking her hand, "Deal."

 **Hope you guys enjoyed it! Please please please tell me what you think. I really want to know how I'm doing at writing these non-canon chapters. The next few chapters will focus heavily on Willow, Eli, and Casey. Anyway, I will update as soon as possible.**


	9. Chapter 9

It was safe to say that winter was pretty much over at this point. Hannah ditched her winter jacket a few days ago and was now wearing a simple red hoodie and a green flannel over top. It kept her warm and comfortable without being constricting like her jacket was. Her love for flannel had grown significantly over the last few months. She always wore Glenn's old hat. Usually it was either braided or pulled up in a pony tail. Today, however, her hair was loose and the hat was flipped backwards. Her curly hair now reached about halfway down her back. She probably should get a haircut at some point, but that really wasn't a priority at this point.

The group was camped in the woods for about five or six days now. They had yet to see a walker, which seemed to be a good sign. The group was always on high alert, either way. They had alternating watch shifts. Rick even put up ropes with old cans so they would make noise if anything ran into it. The nearest water source was about a twenty-minute walk away, which wasn't awful. The main problem came from the lack of places to check for food. Daryl went hunting everyday. Hannah went with him twice, but most of her time was spent practicing shooting her bow. She was getting a lot better at it. She almost always hit the target, and was even making her way closer to the center. Looks like those Dixon genes were finally starting to kick in.

Hannah sat at the camp fire with a small portion of rabbit in her bowl. Carol, who'd become a very good shot over the last few months, stood on watch at the edge of camp. She looked around at the rest of her group. Nearly six months of always running was taking its toll. Lori was becoming a growing concern. She looked very pregnant at this point. Hershel deduced that the baby would be out in probably a month and a half, maybe two months. He couldn't know for sure since he didn't have the proper equipment. Daryl had gone out hunting that morning and wouldn't be back until probably mid-day.

"We're gonna need to make another trip to the creek," Rick stated.

"Hannah and me can go," Carl volunteered them. Hannah nodded. She and Carl were a package deal. "It's a twenty-minute walk, we can handle it."

"Not alone," Rick stated.

"I'll go too," Beth suggested.

"I'll help," Maggie volunteered.

"We can handle ourselves," Carl protested.

"Water's heavy," Maggie countered. "Besides, we need washing water too."

"Okay, Maggie, Beth, Hannah, and Carl are goin'," Rick agreed. Hannah felt a little disappointed because she really wanted to go with Carl alone. They could handle it, it was just getting water. Then again, she could always not be going at all. She supposed that was progress.

Beth and Maggie took the lead while Carl and Hannah followed. The walk to the creek was quiet, Hannah had her bow in hand just in case anything came their way. Carl had his gun with the ridiculous looking silencer on it. They'd found about a week of so ago in a house. Looking at how massive this cone like thing was, Hannah wasn't surprised it got left behind. Still, it was better than nothing. At least now he could fire his gun without worrying about the loud bang.

' _We could do this alone,'_ Carl signed to her.

' _I know, but at least they let us come out,'_ she replied. She signed with only one hand since her other one was holding her bow. She had her quiver hanging off one shoulder and a backpack full of empty water bottles on her back.

When they got to the creek, Hannah and Carl started filling the bottles. The water was a little bit brown, but they would get the chance to boil it when they got back to camp.

"Try to fill the bottles 'til they're overflowin'," Maggie said. "More water to got, less we'll have to come here. And if we gotta run, at least we'll have a bit." Carl and Hannah nodded and kept filling.

By the time Hannah and Carl finished, Maggie and Beth were only halfway done filling the large metal bucket that was used to do laundry. The two waited for the older girls to finish, bored.

"Can we head back now?" Carl asked. "It's a short walk, we'll be fine."

Beth and Maggie looked at each other as though they were trying to find the nicest way to tell them 'Hell no'.

"We'll be back before either of you even finished filling it," Hannah added. "We'll be okay. It's like when go on watch, he'll watch my back, I'll watch his."

"It's not far," Beth reinforced. "Besides, the sooner the others get water, the faster it'll get boiled." Hannah knew there was a reason she liked Beth. Maggie still seemed a little hesitant. Hannah gave her a pleading look.

"Fine," Maggie agreed. "But no stops, just straight back to camp."

Hannah and Carl nodded, trying to conceal their smiles and headed off.

The path from camp to the creek should've been a straight shot. Key word: should've been. They were about seven minutes out when they heard a rustling coming from the bushes.

"What was that?" Carl asked.

"I dunno," Hannah shrugged. There was a stab of fear that coursed through her. "Carl, we should really head back."

The rustling got louder. Hannah gripped her bow as a walker came tumbling out. She and Carl both fired at once. Hannah's bolt buried itself in the walker's shoulder. Luckily Carl's shot got it right in the head.

"That's the first one we've seen in days," Carl noted.

"We should go back to the ot…" Only she didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as more rustling came. She heard the moans coming from the bushes. Four walkers came tumbling out.

"Run. Run!" Hannah pulled Carl and they started sprinting.

They didn't run back towards the camp, nor did they go back to Maggie and Beth. No, instead they took off and ran deeper into the woods. She always made sure to keep Carl in sight. Her friend tried to shoot at the approaching walkers as they ran. He did manage to hit one, but soon there weren't any bullets left in his gun. Hannah ran blindly through the woods, for a second she thought back to running in the woods at the highway. She'd been terrified at that point. Now, she felt that terror again. The difference between then and now, however, was that she had Carl now. They ran side by side, deeper into the woods.

Hannah and Carl kept running until suddenly the ground beneath them gave out. She screamed and crashed to the bottom of a pit. She landed hard on her side, the pain erupted through her. She shook them away and tried to move her shoulder, only for the worst possible agony to radiate. The tears sprang in her eyes. She tried to stand up but fell back down as her ankle throbbed.

"Hannah?" Carl called out. She used her good arm and made sure her implants were still firmly in place. The backpack full of water bottles was still hanging off one shoulder. She'd lost her bow and quiver in the fall. The pit was dark, seeing as it was so deep. But she could see a bit of light coming from the top from the hole where they fell through.

"Carl?" She tried to find him. She could see the faint outlines of someone laying on the ground. For a second she thought it was Carl, until she felt his hand on her arm. She winced at the pain spreading through her shoulder. Black dots were at the corners of her eyes. The other body had to be one of the walkers that had been chasing them. Its head was smashed on the ground, blood pooled around the crushed skull.

More light poured into the pit. Carl and Hannah rolled out of the way as the two walkers fell down. One smashed his head on the ground but the other was still alive. Well, not alive, but still moving. Hannah yelped as it reached forward and grabbed her bad ankle. With whatever energy she had left, Hannah kicked the snarling walker right in the face. Carl rushed over and drove his knife into the walker's head.

She looked up at him, even though they dropped however far down, he still had his sheriffs hat on. He had a cut under his right eye that was bleeding profusely. He had a few other cuts and bruises, but he didn't see all that hurt.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Hannah sat up and propped herself against the wall. Carl sat next to her. She tried to move her bad arm again and bit her lip to keep from crying in pain.

"My shoulder," she said. "I think it's dislocated, and my ankle hurts. You?"

"Got a bit of a headache," Carl said. "Besides that I'm good."

"What the hell is this?" Hannah asked. The pit was a giant rectangular shape. The dirt was packed tight, making sturdy walls. There didn't seem to be any roots or anything to grab so they could climb up. Even if there were, Hannah doubted she could climb with this shoulder.

"I think someone made a trap," Carl deduced. "Either for walkers or people…"

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Hannah asked. "We need to get out of here. I mean, they've gotta know we're gone. Beth and Maggie have to be either back or almost there by now." She was panicking. Tears started flowing down her face. "What if they don't? What if they can't find us? Oh God, we're gonna die in here aren't we?"

"We're not gonna die," Carl assured her. "If they don't find us, we'll find a way out."

Carl stood up and looked around for some way out. He even started to jump up, as though he could catch something.

"HELP!" He yelled. "HELP! WE'RE DOWN HERE!"

"Carl," Hannah tried to get his attention. She let out another pain filled cry. The tears were just kept coming. She felt nauseous.

"HELP US! WE'RE DOWN HERE!" Carl kept yelling. He looked back to see Hannah leaning back against the wall looking green and crying.

"Hannah?" He rushed back over to her side.

"Carl," she said weakly. She took in a deep breath and tried to divert the waves of nausea.

Carl remembered the backpacks full of water. His had dropped somewhere on their run but Hannah's was still on her back. He took it off of her and grabbed one of the bottles and handed it to her. She tried to take a sip only to turn her head away from Carl and threw up. Carl went to the other side of the pit where her bow and quiver from where they landed. Most of her bolts were destroyed in the landing but her bow seemed just fine. He really just wanted to get away from the vomit.

Carl went back over to her, after she'd finished puking, and grabbed another bottle of water. He sat next to her and took a gulp. He didn't, quite frankly, give a damn that the water wasn't boiled. They'd ran for, who knows how long. His gun was empty and useless but he still had his knife. Carl had to keep it together for her, even though he was terrified. He didn't know how far away they'd ran. But they couldn't be too far. Beth and Maggie would walk back to camp and see they're not there. Daryl should be back by then and they can track them. They left a pretty distinct trail.

"We're screwed, aren't we?" Hannah asked.

"No." _Yes._ Hannah winced once again as she tried to move her shoulder. Carl tried not to look at it hanging out of its socket.

"It hurts," she whined.

"I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" She asked.

"We should've kept walking," Carl told her.

"Then the walkers would've gotten Beth and Maggie," Hannah said. She let out another cry in pain as she tried to shift her position.

He needed to somehow get her mind off of it. When he was a kid, he fell out of a tree at school and broke his arm. He remembered being in so much pain, and crying. Then his dad started just talking to him. He couldn't remember exactly what he said, but he remembered how the pain seemed to be on the back burner.

"I have a confession to make," he started. Hannah eyed him curiously. "I never read _Harry Potter."_

Hannah's red and puffy eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Nope, saw the movies and they were pretty cool, but I don't read a lot of books," he said.

"Then what do you read?" Hannah asked. She couldn't imagine someone not reading.

"Comic books mostly," he told her. "I used to drag my mom to the store when I got my allowance."

"I never would've taken you for a comic book dork," she teased.

"Hey, _Spider-Man_ is cool," he defended.

"Mhm," she said. "Honestly, I hated those movies. I thought he was kind of an idiot."

"Well duh, the movies were crap. Peter Parker is much better in writing," Carl explained.

"Ginny was too," Hannah added. She let out another groan of pain.

"Superman was pretty cool, but he was a little bit too perfect," he continued. "Besides _Harry Potter_ , what other books do you like?"

" _Percy Jackson_ ," she told him.

"I think my teacher made us read that in school. It was about the guy who finds out he's a demi-god, right?"

Hannah nodded. "But it's more than that. Percy was an outcast," she explained. She tried to push the pain away. "H-He was dyslexic and the other kids always made fun of him for it. Then he finds out that he's this great big hero, that the thing that made him an outcast was actually one of the things that made him special. And to a kid like me… I dunno, I always hoped that maybe I was special too. Stupid, right?"

"Nah," Carl told her. "Besides, you are special." She gave him a small smile.

They didn't know how long they were sitting there. They'd each finished a bottle of water. The cut on Carl's faces still bleeding. The light in the pit was dimming. This morning they went for water; they wouldn't have been back until the early afternoon. It was probably the later afternoon now. While the days got longer once again, sunset still happened at around five thirty-ish. Who knows how long they ran for. Based on how exhausted Hannah was after falling in the pit, they ran for a long time. They needed to get out of here, but Hannah couldn't do that with her shoulder. She could manage the ankle, but not both. She looked towards her best friend.

"Carl," she started. "I need you to pop it back in."

"What?" Carl asked in disbelief.

"We need to get out of here," she told him. "I can't do it with this shoulder. Please, you need to do this."

"I… I can't," he told her. "I don't know how."

"We need to do something," Hannah told him. "There has to be a way out of here."

"Hannah, I looked… we're stuck," Carl told her. She groaned in agony as she stood up. Her ankle throbbed, as did her shoulder.

"HEY!" She screamed as loud as she possibly could. Hannah didn't yell, not unless she was extremely angry or scared. At this point, she was a mix of both. "HEY! WE'RE DOWN HERE! HEY!"

"HEY!" Carl stood up and joined her.

"HELP US!" She yelled. "WE'RE DOWN HERE!"

They kept screaming until they were blue in the face. They didn't care if it would attract walkers, they could handle those. What they needed was a way out.

"HELP US!" She screamed as a bright light poured in.

* * *

 _Five days later_

Like they'd agreed, Will and Eli didn't argue. They left the house the next morning, just like Eli wanted. That night, they wound up sleeping in the woods. Will took most of the watches, seeing as she was used to not sleeping very much.

About a day after that, they managed to find a car. Things were starting to finally work out for them. At least that's what she thought until they were about a three quarters of the way to Greenville and the car died. They were parked just down the street from a farmhouse.

"Cars dead in the water," Will told Casey who stood next to her. "Oil pressure completely gone. There's overheatin' too. This car ain't gonna move." He observed as she tried her best to fix the car. Eli was sleeping in the backseat of the car. He seemed to be sleeping a lot more over the last few days. He decided that he was going to take care of his own leg. His excuse was that Willow already had a lot to deal with Back in the real world, Will worked as a mechanic in Nashville, after she started getting her life back together. She'd always been good at working with her hands.

"W-What d-do w-we d-do?" Casey asked.

"House nearby, whole up there for the night," Will suggested. "Go wake up your brother. I'll go start clearin' it."

Casey nodded.

Will had to kick the door open since the door was still locked. _Good sign._ She walked inside to see a virtually untouched house. She walked up the stairs, her machete ready to attack. She checked the first room, empty. The drawers were still open, clothes scattered across the room.

"Either this is person was a bigger slob than Ollie was, or they left in a hurry," she thought aloud. She checked the other three rooms, they were in the same condition.

"W-Willow!" Casey's alarmed voice rang through. _Shit._

She ran down the stairs to see a panicked Casey standing above an unconscious Eli. Willow ran towards them.

"What the hell happened?" She asked.

"W-We w-were w-walking… h-he w-was f-fine. T-Then h-he s-started s-slurring and f-fell," Casey explained hastily. Will could see the sweat covering the older boy. She dropped to her knees. She pressed her hand to his forehead. It was hot and clammy.

"He's burnin' up," she said. Will lifted Eli's pant leg and checked the bandage. She removed it to see the cauterized cut was now red and burning hot surrounding it. The cut itself was leaking puss.

"O-Oh m-my… f-fuck," Casey swore, looking like he was about to pass out.

"It's infected," she noted. Will didn't stop to think. She couldn't. "C'mon, there's rooms upstairs. I need you to help me get him up. We gotta lay him down."

Casey helped her lift Eli up. They dragged him up the stairs and into the first room. They laid him down on the bed. She needed to fight off the infection. Will tried so hard to remember what to do. _C'mon Ollie, now you decide to shut up?_ He would know what to do. Charlotte would know. All Willow knew was basic first aid.

"Think, Willow. Think," she mumbled to herself. Casey gave her a desperate look. Clean it, Ollie would tell her.

"We're gonna need to find any medical supplies," she said. "Anythin' that can be used to disinfect. That means rubbin' alcohol, or any type of alcohol, antibiotics, bandages."

"Y-You t-think w-we'll f-find it h-here?" Casey asked.

"No," she said. "But at this point, I'll take anythin'. See if you can find a phone book too."

"W-Why?"

"Cause there's gotta be a hospital, a pharmacy, hell even a vet clinic nearby," she told him. "Sooner we find one, more chances he'll have. Meantime, go." Casey nodded and went out the door.

Will grabbed the water bottle out of her bag and a towel. She wet the towel and gently dabbed Eli's forehead, trying to cool him down.

"C'mon, Eli, don't do this," Will begged. The boy coughed. His eyes opened up.

"Willow?"

"Why didn't you say it was getting infected?" Will asked. "You would've known."

"If I would've said something, we would've stopped. We're so close. I thought I could've made it," he told her in a weak low voice.

"I get that you think you need to get Casey home at all costs…" She was cut off by him.

"You'll look after him," Eli stated. "If I die… promise me you'll look after him."

"You're not gonna die," Will assured him.

"Willow…"

"Just Will," she told him. "We're at that point now."

"Will, promise me," Eli continued.

"I don't have to," she told him. "You're gonna be fine."

Casey came back in moments later holding a few plastic bottles, a giant phonebook, and a long sleeved button-down shirt. He handed her the three little bottles. Two out of the three were ibuprofen and Tylenol, not exactly useful when it comes to infection. The third was a prescription for acne medication.

"I-I g-grabbed w-what I-I c-could f-find," Casey explained.

"Thanks Casey," she told him. Willow took two Tylenol out of the bottle and gave them to Eli. "That'll help with some of the pain. Casey, you remember how to change the bandage?" He nodded. "Good. I'm gonna go downstairs make sure the doors are locked." She grabbed the phonebook before leaving.

Once she double checked the doors, Will pulled up a chair and parked it so she had a good view for watch. They had about two hours before sunset. She opened up the phone book and scanned. She found a walk-in clinic down the road from where they were. There was also a pharmacy nearby. They were just on the outskirts of a small town. She could be at the clinic and back within the hour. _Play it safe,_ she chastised herself.

"Because playin' it safe's gonna keep Eli alive," she mumbled to herself. She had to make a choice. Either go now, or wait until morning. Casey came down the steps and sat on the ground next to her chair.

"H-He f-fell a-asleep," Casey said. "W-What a-are w-we g-gonna d-do?"

"You're gonna stay here, keep watch 'n make sure Eli's fever stays down. There's a walk-in clinic not far from from here," she said. "If I leave now, I can be back in an hour." She started getting up from the chair. Looks like her choice was made.

"N-No, w-we s-should g-go t-together," Casey stated. "You sh-shouldn't g-go a-alone."

"I'll be fine," Will reassured. Casey gave her a pleading look. Will sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll wait until tomorrow."

"A-And I-I'm c-coming w-with y-you," Casey added.

"Someone's gotta watch Eli," she reminded him.

"H-He's b-been l-looking o-out f-for m-me s-since I w-was a k-kid," Casey explained. He huffed frustrated with himself.

"It's okay," Will told him, just like Eli always does when he got frustrated.

"H-He's d-done s-so m-much f-for m-me. I c-can't j-just s-sit a-around w-while h-he…" Casey drifted off, his voice getting all choked up.

"I get it," she assured him. "I do. Lemme think about it, ok?"

"Ok," he replied. "I c-can t-take w-watch. G-Get s-some r-rest."

"I'm fine," she said stubbornly. "I can take watch."

"J-Just g-get s-some s-sleep," Casey said. "Y-You d-drove all d-day."

"You're not gonna shut up 'til I leave," Will deduced.

"N-Nope," he smirked. Will sighed in defeat.

"Fine, wake me up at ten," she told him.

Will walked by Eli's room. She walked in and sat at the chair by the bed. It was weird, she'd only known these two for about two weeks yet she was growing attached to them. She felt responsible for them. It was like she had new purpose. Before, she was surviving for the sake of surviving, now she had a reason to keep going. She had people to take care of. This is something she wasn't used to. Usually, people took care of her –not that she made it easy for them. But looking at Eli laying in the bed, she had this weird unfamiliar feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"You're gonna be okay," she told the kid. "You've gotta be okay. Because I can't take losin' someone else. Everyone I ever cared about's either dead or missin'. So, you don't get to die. Casey needs you."

Truth is, Will needed him too. Eli stirred and coughed. It seemed like his fever was getting worst. He was mumbling something. Will listened intently, trying to hear what he was repeating.

"…ren."

 _Lauren?_ Was he saying Lauren?

"Lauren," he said it more clearly now. "Lauren… I'm sorry. I… sorry."

He started whimpering. "Lauren…"

"It's okay, Eli," Will told him. She didn't know how to comfort him. He mentioned Lauren to her before, that she died not long ago. "It's okay."

Will fell asleep still sitting in the chair. There were two other beds she could've slept in but instead she chose to take off her boots and put her feet up on the bed and drifted off to sleep until Casey came and got her for watch.

The next morning, Will went upstairs after her watch. Casey was asleep on the ground next to Eli's bed. Eli was sweating buckets now. His fever sky-rocketed overnight. He was shivering now. She had to get those meds. Will grabbed her bag off the floor and scribbled a quick note for Casey.

' _Gone to get meds. Keep Eli's fever down. Be back before noon._

 _-Will.'_

She knew Casey would be pissed but Will knew Eli would be pissed if she brought Casey along. Besides, she could get in and out much faster if she was on her own.

Will crawled out a window that was still unlocked and quietly shut it behind her. She didn't want to risk the door. The sun was just starting to rise as Will started walking down the road. The walk-in clinic was just on the edge of town. She had her machete raised as she smashed one of the back windows. Will waited for the first walker to appear, she dispatched it without any trouble and pulled the corpse out. She climbed through the window into an office.

"Okay, now what?" She asked herself. There had to be some place to start. "C'mon, think Will, think. Drug locker." It dawned on her. These places always had drug lockers. She just needed to think of where it was.

She headed out of the small office and walked down the deserted hallway. Papers scattered across the floor, a wheelchair was turned over. There was a body that was picked to the bone. All that was left was a face and some hair. She had a hard telling that it had been a man at some point. It's dead glassy eyes stared at her. There was a bullet wound in his head, at least someone had the decency to shoot him before he turned. Will walked past the corpse and towards the back of the clinic. Her best bet for a drug locker would be there.

Her suspicions were confirmed as she got to a room across from the exam rooms. The drug locker was wide open.

"Fuck," she swore. She hoped there would be more. She opened the door and found a few bottles left. Some were pills, there was even one of an ointment. She shoved them all in her bag. She wasn't exactly sure what they were, but they were better than nothing. Hopefully, one of these was penicillin. She knew for sure that would help with infection.

She went to the exam rooms next and picked through the drawers. She grabbed all the bandages and gauze she could. There was also one half empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. She'd hit the jackpot. Well, not the ten-million-dollar jackpot, more like the one thousand dollars that could be won at Bingo. It wasn't much, but it was enough to pay for a cheap night in Reno. It was a nice little boost.

Will started heading back towards the office she came in through when a loud clang echoed through the hall. She froze in horror as the moans followed. Blocking her way out were about four walkers all coming towards her.

"Shit!" She cursed and started running back down the hall. She turned into the first office she saw and went to slam the door behind her, only to find it was one of those swinging doors that couldn't close properly.

"Stupid fucking door!" She yelled as the walkers came in. Will sliced through the decaying skull of the closest walker. She turned around and saw the window. She didn't hesitate for a second before charging and smashing through the window. Will shielded her head with her arms. Still, got scratched up.

She landed on the pavement hard, and felt the wind get knocked right out of her. Her palms where all scratched up. Will sucked in a deep breath and let the adrenaline fill her as she got up and starting sprinting down the road. She turned around to see that one walker had managed to make it out of the window and was now coming after her. Another one followed suit. The third tried to get out but it fell out and crumpled on the pavement, its legs broken. Walkers don't get winded, people do. Will had to get rid of the threat. She turned around and charged them. With pure determination in her bones, she chopped one of the walkers' head's right off. The second one came towards her and she dispatched it with ease. It dropped to the ground and she finally felt like she could breathe.

Will saw there was was some glass imbedded in her skin. She could feel the blood dripping from her forehead. She could do a full assessment later, right now, she had to get back to the house and to the brothers. She started on the long trek back.

She made it back probably by noon. She always had a built in clock, it was a secret talent of hers. Will opened the same window she left from in the first place. She collapsed on the ground with a heavy thud. All the adrenaline she had earlier vanished. Her body ached.

"W-Will?" She looked up to see Casey standing above her, the gun in hand.

"Hey," she said.

"Y-You sh-should've w-woke m-me," Casey scolded her while helping her up. "Y-You s-shouldn't h-have g-gone a-alone."

"Yeah, well, I never said I did thing's rationally," she told him. "How is he?"

"H-He's s-still g-got a f-fever," Casey explained. "I-I've b-been l-looking f-for a-anything t-to h-help. W-What d-did y-you f-find?"

"There wasn't much," she told him. "I grabbed what I could." She handed him the bag.

"T-This is gr-great," Casey said. "Y-You sh-should g-get c-cleaned up."

"I'll do that," she assured.

Will walked to the bathroom and cringed at the sight of herself in the mirror. The light streamed in from the bathroom window. She found a pair of tweezers in the cupboard and sat on the toilet cover. She started picking out the pieces of glass for her arms. There were scrapes on her elbows and knees from when she collided with the ground. They didn't seem to be bleeding anymore. Though her clothes were now stained with even more blood than they had been. She had a scratch above her eye. That one seemed to be the worst. She'd probably need to bandage that up.

Will walked up to the room. Eli was up and looking at what Will found. He was still very pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked like crap. Casey, who was looking at all the different bandages. When she grabbed them she didn't exactly stop to look what they were exactly.

"H-Here," Casey said while handing her a pack of butterfly bandages.

"Thanks," she replied.

"The hell happened to you?" Eli asked.

"Killed some walkers. Jumped out a glass window. Just the usual," she explained. "How're you feelin'?"

"Like shit," he told her. "But these should help."

"I didn't know what was there… I just grabbed everythin'," she shrugged.

He pulled out the ointment. "It's antibiotic. We've also got some kick ass pain killers aaaannnndddd, hell yeah doxycycline."

"I'm guessin' that's good," Will deduced.

"Oh, it's really good," he replied.

Will left the room as Eli instructed Casey on how to properly dress his leg. She took the butterfly bandages and bandaged up the scratches on her face. She then took her spot right by the door. She started picking whatever pieces of glass left in her arm. She thought she'd gotten them all, turns out she missed a few.

She looked up at the sound of someone coming down the stairs. Her immediate thought was that something must be going wrong. It was a valid thought because though things were working out now, something always goes wrong.

"Everythin' alright?" Will asked as Casey came into view.

"Y-Yeah. I-I f-found s-something w-while y-you w-were g-gone," he explained. "A t-truck."

"A pick-up?" Lexi asked and he nodded. "Where?"

"I-In t-the b-back."

"Show me."

Will got up and followed Casey out the door. He led her to a rusted red pick up truck in the back field.

"D'you think they left the keys?" Will asked.

"D-Dunno," Casey told her.

"You go check," she suggested. "I'll pop the hood, see if there's anythin' off." Casey nodded and headed back inside the house.

She started checking under the hood. Her main concern were the spark plugs. Though she wouldn't know if they needed a change until after they start it. Casey came back with the keys in hand. Will grinned.

"Try startin' it," she told him.

Casey got in the front seat and turned the key. The truck stalled for a second before sputtering and shutting back off. Will groaned in frustration.

"Just what I thought," she voiced. "Spark plugs' burnt out." Casey smacked the front wheel in frustration. She got an idea and walked over to the driver's side door.

"N-Now w-what?" Casey asked.

"Well, no matter what I say, we both know Eli ain't gonna stay still for long," Will said. Casey smirked but nodded. "Thing is, he can't walk on that leg, don't matter if he thinks he can push on, he can't. Only way we're gonna get outta here is to fix that truck. You see a toolshed?"

Casey nodded.

"Alright, that's a start."

Will gave Casey a list of things he'd need to find. She walked back over to the abandoned car in front of the house and popped the hood. It wasn't ideal, but the spark plugs in the car could fit in the truck. She managed to take them out and closely observed them. She made sure there wasn't any wear and tear. She brought them back to the truck where Casey stood with a red toolbox and some duct tape.

"Perfect, I should have her runnin' in about an hour," Will told him. "You wanna stay or you gonna check on your brother?"

"I-I'll s-stay," he decided.

"Good," she smiled. "At least one o' y'all's gonna know how to fix a car. Somethin' my daddy taught me. 'Everyone outta know three things: how to bar-b-q the perfect steak, how to throw a punch, and how to take care of your engine'. Drilled it into me and my sister's heads growin' up. Course it only ever stuck with me."

"I-Is h-he d-dead?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, died when I was about your age," she explained. "What about you? Eli only mentioned your mom?"

"H-He l-left w-when I w-was f-four," Casey explained. "E-Eli t-took i-it h-hard. B-But h-he a-always l-looked o-out f-for m-me and m-my m-mom."

"I'm sorry," she told him.

"I-I'm s-sorry t-too," he replied.

About an hour later Will installed the new, well somewhat used, spark plugs. Casey was behind the wheel once more turning the key. The car stalled twice. Will was just about to give up hope when Casey turned the key once more and the truck roared to life. Unable to contain herself, Will lifted her fist into the air in excitement.

"We did it!" She cried out in joy. Casey grinned. Things were looking up.

After syphoning the other car for the fuel, getting Eli in the car, and getting whatever small supplies there were, the group of three left the house in the truck with a new sense of hope. They were squashed uncomfortably. Casey sat in the middle, while Eli took the window seat and Will drove. She sped down the back roads, driving past a few stray walkers.

"How long?" Eli asked. Casey fell asleep and was leaning up against his brother.

"Dunno, a few hours," she said. "How's the leg doin'?"

"Hanging in there," Eli told her. "I was surprised you wanted to leave so early."

"I may not have known you boys for long, but I've realized one thing: you weren't gonna shut up 'til I caved," she told him. "'Specially since I got the meds."

"You guessed right," he smirked. He coughed. "I was just about to start a fight when you came up to tell me we were goin'."

"You still look like shit," Willow said. "I know you're puttin' on that tough guy act, but its bullshit. If it was my choice, we'd'a stayed, but let's be honest, it stopped bein' my choice a while ago."

"That's not true," Eli said.

"Mhm," she mumbled. "Look, I ain't arguin'. We're on the road, got a car so we ain't walkin'. If the truck breaks down again, you best believe we're gonna stay in one place 'til that leg heals up. Even if I gotta tie you down 'n spoon feed you."

"And here you thought you had no choice in the matter," Eli teased.

"Shut up," she smirked.

They were just outside a small town. Will and Eli were still chatting, not talking about anything in particular –minus the fact that he insulted her favorite movie, _The Wizard of Oz_. She took a few shots at him as well. Casey had woken up at some point and was now laughing at them.

"Oh please! Lou Ferigno's Hulk would kick Eric Bana's ass," Will argued. "I mean you can't beat the original."

"I beg to differ," Eli retorted. "I mean look at _Star Trek_ , the new one is better. The acting, the visuals. All of it."

Will wrinkled her nose in disgust. She felt like Charlotte at that moment. "I'll bet you're the guy who thinks the _Star Wars_ prequels were…"

"Will look out!" Eli screamed. Her eyes had momentarily gone off the road. Will looked back to see someone standing in the middle of the road with their arms up to stop them.

Will stomped on the breaks. The red truck stopped two inches from the middle aged man. He came up to the driver's side window.

"Name's Nick. And you?" He asked. Will had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Eli was the first to speak up.

"Eli," he introduced. "This is Casey and Willow."

"And what're you kind people doin' here?" Nick asked in a heavy Georgian accent.

"Just passin' through." Will was the one to speak this time.

"Now, y'see, that's gonna be a problem," Nick informed. "Cause as of this point, you're in our territory."

As if on queue, about a dozen heavily armed men and women came walking out of the woods. Will tried to come up with some plan to get out of this, only she didn't have the chance as Nick pointed his gun at the brothers.

"I'm gonna have to ask y'all to step outta the vehicle," he ordered them. She hesitated for a second. "If you even think 'bout resistin', gonna be Eli that gets it." Casey tensed. She could feel him shaking in fear. Eli looked at Will, she gave him a curt nod before he opened the door. She wasn't going to let these guys gun them down. Will stepped out of the truck, her hands above her head in surrender.

"On your knees, all o' you," he continued. His gun was still pointed at them. On top of that, his small army all had their weapons trailed on them too. She knew there was one behind each of them. Once again, Will gave them a nod and they dropped to their knees. There was no escape here.

"Hm, Mick's gonna like the girl," one of the men declared. The others started to laugh.

"Yeah, I'll bet she's real good," another one agreed. "If Mick don't want her, I'll go for a spin."

Will felt her blood boil. They were talking about her as though she was nothing but a piece of meat.

"Who the fuck's Mick?" She asked trying to sound much braver than she felt.

"Mick's the guy who now owns you," Nick explained with a smirk.

Will looked over at the brothers, who weren't as good at masking their fear as she was. She could still hear their laughter as the thug behind her threw a bag over her head, and the darkness washed over her.

 **Well, things aren't looking so good for Will, Eli, Casey, Hannah or Carl. Please let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

To say that Daryl was terrified was putting it mildly. He got back to camp only to find Hannah missing. Beth and Maggie got back at the same time as him. They were both breathless from running. Rick asked where the kids were.

"They're not back yet?" Maggie had asked. Daryl felt the colour visibly drain from his face. Lori let out a cry. He and Rick immediately took off into the woods. Glenn, and Maggie came along with them.

They started off by heading down the path to the creek. Maggie explained that she and Beth were walking down the path when they were surprised by a few walkers. They managed to get them, but only after being chased off the path.

"There!" Daryl yelled when he spotted a fallen corpse. He ran to it, only to find a walker with a bullet to the head. Rick pulled up the dead walkers' lip, and checked.

"No skin," he said in relief.

Daryl saw the trail leading away from it. There were two sets of clear footprints in the ground. There were four sets following them. Based on how they zig-zagged, Daryl guessed they were walker tracks. It felt like the air got sucked right out of his chest.

"Walkers," he said. "They ran off that way."

They didn't stop as Daryl led them down the path. He shouldn't have left her behind at camp. He should've known something bad would happen. He thought she would be safe with the others. Now she was God only knows where. He didn't know whether or not she was okay. She could be dead for all he knew. _Shut up, she's fine._ The trail looked fresh, probably a few hours old. The further they went, the more the anxiety started building. The thought of her being hurt or worst, it brought back some old memories. The last time this happened, he was trying to find Charlie. He knew how that ended. He couldn't go through that again.

"Carl's backpack," Maggie said as she ran over to a bag just ahead.

"They made it this far," Glenn encouraged.

"They wouldn't'a had to if they weren't on their own," Daryl grumbled.

"I made a mistake," Maggie snapped. "I made a mistake 'n now Hannah and Carl are missin'. I'm sorry. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't think it…" She broke off.

"Hey, it's okay," Glenn comforted. "We'll find them. We will." He said this right at Rick and Daryl. They nodded and continued down the path.

They found one walker. Once again, they checked and there wasn't any skin in its teeth. He felt relieved, but there were still three walkers that followed them. They kept walking. It was getting dark but they weren't going back to camp without Hannah and Carl. They each had a flashlight and searched. He'd gotten lost when he was a kid and he was okay. Then again, Sophia got lost and she's gone now. _Stop._ But he couldn't. He kept thinking of seeing Charlie leaning against that tree all bloody. He thought about Sophia getting bit and coming out of that barn. _Seriously, stop._

"How far did they get?" Glenn asked breaking his train of thought.

"Hopefully, far enough," Daryl voiced. That was when he heard it. It was faint.

"… _hey..."_

"Y'all hear that?"

"Hear what?" Glenn asked.

"Shh," Rick hushed.

"… _hey…"_

"… _help…"_

"Where'd it come from?" Maggie asked.

"That way," Daryl pointed forward. He took off running closer to the voices. It started getting louder the closer they got.

"Help us!" He could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Hannah!" He called out. "Hannah!"

"Carl!" Rick cried out.

"Where are they?" Glenn asked

"HELP US! WE'RE DOWN HERE!" Hannah was yelling. _Down where?_

"HELP US!" She yelled out again. His light drifted on a rather big hole in the ground.

"There!" He pointed. Daryl ran over and dropped to his knees. He flashed his light in the hole and saw the walker bodies first. Then he saw her. "Hannah!"

"Dad?" She looked up at him with a big smile on her face.

"I found 'em!" Daryl told the others. Rick ran over and looked in the hole with him.

"Carl," he sounded relieved. Daryl understood the feeling. "Are you both okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're okay. Hannah's shoulder's dislocated, but that's the worst," Carl explained. He was relieved that it wasn't any worst, but she was still hurt.

"Hold on, we're gonna get both of you outta there," Daryl assured.

"We need a rope," Rick noted.

"We're about an hour out," Daryl replied. "Unless someone's got a rope in their pocket… Sittin' still for two hours…"

"Not out in the open like this," Rick agreed. "Not in the dark."

The pit was about fifteen feet deep. They needed to think of something Carl and Hannah could climb up. Or some way they could pull them out. It had to be strong enough and long. They had to think of something.

"Here!" Maggie yelled out. "I got something."

She came running up with Glenn holding a huge amount of rope.

"Where'd you find all that?" Daryl asked.

"Swimmin' hole nearby," she explained. "C'mon, let's get 'em out."

The four of them lowered the rope in the pit. Daryl was at the back since he was physically stronger than the others. Maggie stood on the side, ready to help pull up whichever one came first. He dug his heels deeper in the ground as one of the kids grabbed the rope. Luckily neither Carl nor Hannah were very heavy. Carl was the first one to come out of the hole. Maggie grabbed hold of him and pulled him up. Rick lowered the rope back in. Hannah grabbed on but after they'd started pulling her up, when she was about halfway to the top, she must've slipped because she let out a painful cry.

"Hannah!" He yelled out as he dropped the rope and ran over to the hole.

"Gimme a light!" He commanded. Glenn tossed him his flashlight, which he caught with ease, and shined it down into the pit. Hannah was on the ground laying on her back. He could here the painful sobbing.

"What's going on?" Glenn asked.

"She fell," Daryl stated. The worry made his chest ache. He had to get her out of there somehow.

"Hannah, you gotta talk to me."

"I f-fell o-on m-my sh-shoulder," she blubbered. _Shit_. She couldn't hang on with just one arm. She wasn't strong enough. He should've realized that when Carl said her shoulder was hurt. He was such an idiot.

"What're we gonna do?" Glenn asked. Daryl could still he his little girl crying. He came up with an idea.

"I'm goin' in," he said without a moment of hesitation. "I'm comin'." He said that to Hannah, thought he wasn't sure she could hear him.

Rick stood as the anchor this time while Maggie, Glenn, and even Carl all held onto the rope as Daryl lowered himself in. He landed just on Hannah's left. She was still on the ground clutching her shoulder crying.

"Hannah?" He tried to get her attention. "Hannah, c'mon, we gotta get outta here."

"I-I c-can't," she cried. "I-It h-hurts."

"I know, but we'll get Hershel to help back at camp. But we gotta get outta here first," he told her. She sniffled but nodded and stood up. She groaned in pain as she put weight on her ankle. Kid was like a giant bruise. Daryl tied the rope around her waist and the group pulled her up. He sighed in relief as she cleared the entrance. He grabbed her bow and quiver, which had been left behind. The rope lowered once more and Daryl grabbed on. He hiked up the side of the pit wall and climbed out of the pit.

Rick was hugging Carl and let out a few relieved tears. Glenn and Maggie were hugging Hannah, who flinched in pain again. Daryl walked over to her and gently wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't even describe the amount of relief he felt seeing that Hannah was, for the most part, unharmed. All his fears of losing her like he did Charlie disappeared. She was okay, that's really what mattered.

"Let's get back to camp," Rick suggested.

"Can you walk?" He asked Hannah. Even though she nodded he knew better. Daryl slung his bow around so it was on his chest. He crouched down. "Hop on."

Hannah climbed on his back. She held on with her good arm. She was going to need a sling. They'd have to get that shoulder fixed up before it gets worst.

Though Daryl had to carry Hannah the whole way back, the group made it back without any trouble. When they got back to camp, he took Hannah immediately to see Hershel. They went inside his tent. Daryl got that sick worried feeling again as Hannah slept on her cot. Carol reset her shoulder and taped up her ankle. Beth held her hand as she cried from the pain. Daryl knew that it should've been him there, but he couldn't. There were some things about being a dad he just wasn't ready for. This was one of them.

Hannah should've gone hunting with him this morning. He'd asked if she wanted to, but she said that she wanted to keep practicing. He should've made her come along. None of this would've happened if he'd made her. He was sitting around the campfire. He couldn't sleep.

"We'll head out in the mornin'," Rick told him while sitting across from him.

"Carl asleep?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Got a few stitches. Hannah?"

"Asleep. Her shoulder'll be in a sling for a few days," he explained.

"Bet she's gonna like that," Rick joked.

"Gonna be a struggle keepin' her in it," Daryl agreed. Hannah would probably protest and complain about it. She spent nearly everyday training with that bow, now she'd need to take a few days off.

He didn't want to talk about what happened today. He'd almost lost Hannah, Rick almost lost Carl. Even though he knew they were both okay, Daryl had that nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hated feeling it. He should've made her come along.

"Where are we headin'?"

"Dunno, we've been goin' in circles for months. We gotta find someplace to settle down 'n fortify," Rick stated. _Especially now that Lori was vey pregnant now._ Rick didn't say that words, but Daryl knew. By the way things are going, looks like Baby Shane would need to be born on the road.

"We've been goin' North, maybe we should go South?" Daryl suggested.

"South," Rick agreed. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Will was thrown on her knees again. Her hands were bound behind her back. The bag was removed from her head. Her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room. She was inside a windowless room she could only describe as a throne room. It was lit by some candles. Casey and Eli were on each side. Eli was cringing. She could tell he was trying to play off his leg. His skin was still pale and clammy. He'd need to change his bandage soon.

From what she could see, there was only one exit, and it was behind her. On the back wall of the room there was a small stage where a fancy decorated chair sat. From what she could tell there were maybe about a half-dozen people in the room. On the throne, a burly white man sat on it. He had no hair on his head, and dark brown eyes. _All he's missin's a damn crown._ He was slouched on the chair yet still commanded power. How egotistical did a man have to be to sit on a throne? There was a very thin woman next to the throne. She had a long thin scar down the side of her face.

"What do we got here?" His voice was gruff. Willow was discreetly trying to undo the knots in the rope tied around her wrists. Looking around the room, she knew the probability of getting out of here in one piece was next to zero.

"Found these three out by Main," Nick explained. "Had this with 'em."

He handed the leader, Mick, Will's backpack. Mick looked through the bag and pulled out one of the orange bottles. Will stiffened at it.

"Now, where did y'all find all of this?" Mick asked. None of them responded. "I'm expectin' an answer." The harsh tone in his voice made Casey jump.

"A Walk-In Clinic," Will spoke up.

"Good, now that we got a conversation going," he started. "Where were y'all headin'? Did y'all have a group?"

"No, just us three," Will was the one who spoke. "We were headin' North. Heard there might be a safe place in the mountains." She lied smoothly.

"The mountains, huh?" Mick questioned.

"Mick, kid on the right's got a bum leg." It was Nick, the man who stopped them in the street. "Looks pretty gnarly too. He ain't gonna be much help."

Will stiffened at the statement. She looked over at Eli, whose expression filled with even more fear. According to Nick, they were Mick's property. Her heart raced but she tried to keep her expression neutral. Will kept clawing at the knots.

"Ah, well I guess we ain't got a choice. Kill him," Mick said non-chalantly. _No!_ She couldn't lose him. She looked up to see a thin man standing behind Eli and held a gun to his head.

"NO!" Casey cried.

She looked over again in a panic to see Eli looking at the ground, tears flowing from his face. Will thanked her holy stars that whoever tied her hands together probably was never a boy-scout. With her hands hands freed, Will lunged and tackled the guy who held a gun to Eli's head. Willow knocked the gun out of his hand. The two struggled on the ground. The man got on top of her and wrapped his hands around her neck. Her eyes widened in surprise at the air being cut from her lungs. She panicked and starting to claw at the man's hands.

"WILL!" Someone screamed, she thought it might be Eli. Will used made her hands into fists and she pushed as hard as she could on the man's arms until his grip loosened and she gasped, feeling the fresh air fill her lungs. Will head butted him and he fell off of her.

People around them were yelling as Will got the upper hand. She got up and placed one hand on his temple, the other just below his jaw. She looked up at Mick with cold eyes, her nostrils filled with rage.

"You fuckin' touch either of them, and I swear I will snap his neck!" She commanded. Mick simply laughed.

"You do that, you'll all be dead before you hit the ground," he replied. Will didn't let the man go. "I like a girl with some fire in her. I'll tell you what, you wanna keep that kid alive, fine…"

"Mick…" Someone started protesting but the second Mick put up his hand, he shut up.

"See, Will was it?" He started. "We got a way of doin' things here. Now, y'all belong to me, meanin' that all your supplies, your weapons… everythin', it's all mine. But I like to think that I'm a nice guy, I give food, shelter…"

"Yeah, you're a regular old Mother Theresa," Will interrupted sarcastically.

"I do this all in exchange for hard labor," he continued ignoring her. "So, like I said, you wanna keep the kid alive, fine, but you're gonna have to fight for it, 'cause I ain't gonna give it up for free. That's your only choice."

 _Fight for it?_ She didn't know what that meant, but if it kept Eli and Casey alive, she'd sure as hell do it.

"Fine," she agreed and released the man from her hold.

"Good choice," Mick complimented. "Take 'em away."

Will struggled as someone grabbed her roughly by the arms and started pulling her away. It was instinct, that whole fight or flight thing. She looked around and saw Casey and Eli also being dragged. She tried to fight again but one of the people that was carrying her out knocked the bud of a rifle on the back of her head making the world around her go black.

 _Will was back home in Hennessey. It had been a very long time since she was home. It was a bright sunny day, she sat on the front porch with a nice cold glass of sweet tea. There were birds chirping in the distance. It was peaceful. She leaned back in her chair and basked in the glory. There was something about being at her childhood home that made her heart swell. She closed her eyes._

" _You just gonna nap there all day?" Will opened her eyes once more to see Charlotte sitting in the chair next to her._

" _Lottie?" Will's voice broke slightly at the sight of her sister._

" _You know, I've always hated that nickname," she stated. "You see your dead husband and best friend, ain't it about time you see your sister?"_

 _She stiffened. "That mean you're dead too?"_

" _I think you might know the answer to that," Charlotte told her. "Deep down, I think you've known for a while."_

 _The tears sprung in Will's eyes. "I'm sorry. I should've come back… after Oliver, I should've gone back. B-but I just… I lost it."_

" _Hey, that don't matter now," Charlotte comforted. All signs pointed to her sister being gone. Even Andrea didn't really know._

" _Where's Hannah?" She asked wiping the tears from her eyes. Andrea said Hannah was still alive._

" _Around somewhere," Charlotte shrugged. "That's not why I'm here."_

" _Why're you here?" Charlotte suddenly got a very somber look on her face._

" _You got yourself in some real trouble this time, didn't you?" She asked. Willow looked at her strangely. "It ain't just about you anymore, Will, you got two boys who are lookin' to you."_

" _I know," she replied._

" _You gotta fight," Charlotte told her. "And you gotta win."_

" _C'mon, Charlotte, the amount of fights I got in when we were younger, I'm surprised you doubt me," she joked lightly. Charlotte's blue eyes went dark._

" _Yeah, and who always bailed you out when you got in trouble? Who's the one that bailed you outta jail, or picked you up off the floor when you were too bruised to stand up?" Charlotte snapped. Willow looked down. "I ain't gonna be around to pick you up this time. You gotta do whatever you gotta do to win. You gotta find a way out. Get Eli and Casey out. They've gotta be your number one priority. Promise me."_

" _I swear," she said._

" _Good," her sister replied and got up from the chair._

" _Wait," Will called out. "Are you really dead?"_

 _Charlotte put one hand comfortingly on Willow's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'll be seein' you, Will."_

Will woke up to an unknown room. Her heart started pounding as she jumped up on her feet. Instinctively she went to reach for her machete but there was nothing there. The walls were grey and covered in lord only knew what. There was a single slot sized window and a large metal door in front of her. Casey and Eli were on the ground, looking up at her.

"You both okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," Eli spoke up, though his voice was weak. He looked just as pale as he had back at the house. Casey stared down at the hard concrete ground with a pensive look in his eye. "How's your head?"

"I'm okay," she answered. There was a slight dull in the back of her skull. She walked over and sat next to them. "Did y'all see anythin'?"

"We're in a school," he responded. "Saw some lockers on the way down."

"See any other people?" She asked.

"A few patrolling the halls, I heard others in the cells," he said.

"T-They're g-gonna k-kill y-you," Casey finally said something. "I-I h-heard th-them w-when w-we w-were l-leaving. T-They d-don't th-think y-you'll m-make p-past r-round o-one."

"Round one?" Will asked in confusion.

"Th-That's a-all t-they s-said," Casey said. "T-They're g-gonna k-kill y-you. W-Why a-aren't y-you p-panicking?"

"Because they don't know who they're dealin' with," she told them. "Because whatever it is, I'm gonna win. I gotta."

They didn't wait long before the large door opened. Will put herself in between whoever was at the door and the two boys. Both guards were burly men.

"Oh good, she's up," one of them said. "C'mon, bitch." He reached out roughly grabbed her wrist.

"Don't you fuckin' touch me!" She yelled and struggled to get out of hold.

"You're gonna come willin' or we're gonna knock you out again," he threatened. "Either way, you're comin' with us." She stopped struggling, favoring not to be knocked out. "That's a smart little bitch."

She felt the rage swell as she strode out of the cell. She cast one look back at Eli and Casey and gave them a nod. They cast worried looks as the door slammed shut.

 _They gotta be your number one priority._ And they were. If there was a chance to get Eli meds, she had to take it.

"She's a pretty one," one of her guards stated. "Minus those cuts, she sure is fuckable."

"Damn shame her face's about to get fucked up," the other one said.

"I can hear you," Will snapped.

"If you close your eyes, bet it'll still feel good," the first guard said. "If she even makes it past round one."

 _Come near me and you'll see just how fast I chop your dick off._ She didn't say that, she had to bite her tongue. If they didn't take it out on her, they'd sure as hell take it out on those boys.

She took note on every door she walked by. They climbed up a set of stairs which led to a hallway. Eli was right, they were in a school. Lockers lined the sides of the hall. Her guards led her into the gym and out the back. There was a giant metal cage in the back courtyard. There were bleachers surrounding it. The bleachers were full with people. Will felt her stomach tighten with anxiety. The cage door unlocked and one of the guards pushed her in. She flew towards the back of the cage. Bright fluorescent lights poured in. Her eyes darted around, trying to find a way out. The only way she was getting out of here is through that front door. Even if she did make it out, the spectators, from what she could see were very heavily armed. Her eyes made contact with Mick, who was sitting at the very top, lording from above.

The door opened once more as a tall muscled man came in. He had a large nasty looking cut on the side of his face. Will wasn't all that short, of course Eli towered over her, but he was already freakishly tall. This man, however, made her feel like a bug.

"Everyone shut up!" Mick yelled and immediately the crowd went silent. The tall man turned and looked up at Mick. Will followed suit. "Now then, let's get this thing started! Both o' y'all need somethin', and my bein' the kind and fair leader and givin' you the chance to fight for it. Tonight, we got a newcomer, Willow against reignin' champ Tim. Standard rules apply. Two go in, one comes out. Winner takes it all."

Mick held up her back pack and took out one of the bottles of medication. "This is what you're playin' for. One bottle of antibiotics. Let the fight begin!" The crowd roared in excitement.

Will looked over at the man standing next to her. Shit. Shit. Shit. What the hell is she going to do? The large man, Tim, lunged towards her. She ducked down to avoid being hit. She hit the ground clumsily as Tim reached forward and yanked up her by the ponytail. Will let out painful yelp. His large meaty fist connected with her jaw, sending her flying back. She smacked against the back of the cage. She fell to the ground once more and Tim's foot connected with her stomach, temporarily knocking the wind right out of her lungs. She started trying to get up as his fist connected with her face again, only this time with her nose. Blood started pouring from it.

The ground started cheering loudly chanting _"Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!"._

 _Will, you know how to take an opponent twice your size down!_ Her brain screamed at her.

Her fury grew and she lunged forward and attacked. Her fists smashed in his face. The adrenaline pumped through her veins. She was not going to die like this. There was so much blood coming from her nose that she had a hard time breathing. Tim pushed her and she fell back down on the ground. He climbed on top of her and wrapped his hands around her throat. Second time in one day that she's been strangled. This time, however, she didn't let herself panic. She used the same move she did earlier and his grip loosened. Will gasped, letting the air fill her lungs. She then kneed him right in crotch.

Tim fell over to the side and soon Will was on top of him. His dark brown eyes looked up at her in fear. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up before smashing his head on the ground.

 _He's a person, Will!_ Her brain screamed as she lifted him by the collar again.

But Eli would die without those meds. If she didn't do this, she would die and Casey would be alone. Those two boys, she kept picturing their faces.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to Tim. She had to do this.

 _It's him or me. It's him or Eli._ She has to win no matter told herself this as she slammed his head down on the hard concrete again and again. The tears flowing from her eyes mixed with the blood dripping from her nose.

"I'm sorry," she said again as the blood started pooling around his head. "I had too." His now cold dead eyes stared blankly at her.

She stood up from the body, the adrenaline felt like it was being sucked out of her. The pain spread through her body. She'd just killed someone. She took another human's life. This wasn't the first time she ever killed anyone, she was a soldier. But that was different. Never once had she killed anyone using her bare hands. The most terrifying thought, was the crushing relief she felt knowing that Tim was dead. It meant that she won. What the fuck kid of person did that make her?

"Looks like we got ourselves a new winner," Mick's voice erupted. His tone was a mix of excitement and surprise. She hated it. She hated him with every fiber of her being.

 _Fuck you!_ She wanted to scream but it felt like she was going to pass out any second. The door opened once more and two guards came and pulled her out. The blood was still pouring from her nose. They half dragged her away from the arena and back through the hall. Her hands were covered with blood. She didn't know whether it was hers or Tim's. It was most likely his.

She made it back to their cell. One of the guards opened the door and pushed her in. She collapsed on the floor and the bottle of antibiotics rolled on the ground. She didn't even remember being given them.

"W-Will?" She looked up to see Casey above her. He helped her up and half carried her to where Eli was laying down. Casey took the antibiotics and gave them to his brother. Eli looked over, he looked even worst now.

"You look like shit," he told her. He coughed.

"So do you," she countered. "He still gotta fever?" She asked Casey.

"I-I've b-been tr-trying to k-keep i-it d-down. Th-They c-came b-by j-just a-after y-you l-left and g-gave w-water," Casey explained. "W-What h-happened?"

Will didn't know what to say. She just kept seeing those frozen brown eyes, and the blood. So much blood. Will started scratching the dried blood off of her hands. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing from her eyes.

 _I did what I had to do._

 _I did what I had to do._

 _I did what I had to do._

Maybe if she keeps repeating that to herself, maybe she could actually believe it.

* * *

 **Damn, things are taking a really dark turn for Will. Also, sorry for the long wait, I'm coming to the end of the semester which means its papers galore (University is hard guys). I've also started my own original story that has been taking up a lot of my time as well. Also, who is just really concerned for next weeks season finale? Like this show stresses me out. I have so much planned for later seasons and we're soon going to be in Season 3, which means The Governor (which I'm really excited to do). Anyway, please leave me a review, let me know what you think. I'll try to update as soon as I possibly can.**


	11. Chapter 11

_The next morning_

Will woke up shivering against the cold concrete. It was a miracle she got any sleep at all. She kept seeing those dark brown eyes staring up at her. Still, her body had been beaten and she was already exhausted and malnourished, it could be that her body just collapsed and made her sleep. She couldn't tell exactly what time it was since their cell had very poor lighting. Maybe it was dawn. Maybe it was mid-morning. She didn't know.

The cell they were in wasn't exactly a cell. Originally, it had to have been a storage room. There were remnants of shelves. They must've fixed it up to make it look more prison like. One thing she realized about these people, they were drama queens. Scary ones, but still, all about the theatrics.

She looked to see Casey curled up on the floor next to her and Eli still asleep on the makeshift bed next to them. Painfully, she slipped on her bloodied hoodie. She never remembered taking it off, though had a vague memory of using it to try and stop the bleeding from her nose. It was covered in blood, but she had nothing else to keep warm. Every part of her ached. She lifted up her t-shirt just enough to reveal her stomach. There, she saw a massive bruise had formed. Her nose had stopped bleeding, but she had a difficult time telling whether or not her nose was broken. It didn't feel broken, which she supposed was a good thing. Willow cringed slightly as she stood up off the ground. She walked over to Eli to do a check on his leg. He would need fresh bandages soon, and painkillers. The antibiotics would take effect, but they weren't enough. Already she could see some colour returning to his cheeks, his fever had gone down a little as well.

 _You're gonna have to fight again._ She reminded herself of this.

So what if she did? What was a little bit of pain if it meant Eli got to live? She was just about to go back and sit when the door opened up. She couldn't see who it was, they just dropped a tray down at the threshold and the door slammed shut again, causing Casey to jump awake.

"Wh-What w-was th-that?" Casey asked. Willow went over to the tray to see there was some food on there.

"Guess it's feedin' time," she mumbled to herself. The food portions were meagre at best. What she had on the tray certainly wasn't enough to feed three people. There was a small bowl of oatmeal along with a handful of crackers. There was a spoon too, Willow slipped it in her pocket.

"Wake your brother up," she told Casey. Will walked over to Eli.

Eli sat up and leaned against the wall. She set the tray of food down in front of them. She dropped the spoon in the corner where they were staying. She put it under her discarded sweatshirt.

"Dig in," she said. The brothers eyed her.

"Are you gonna have some?" Eli asked, his eyes still full of sleep.

"Y'all need it more then me," she explained. Eli shook his head.

"You look like you went twelve rounds with Muhammad Ali," he countered.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"And you need to keep your strength up if we're gonna get out of here," he argued. "Sit your ass down and eat something."

"Eli, I know what I can handle. Whatever they got planned for us today… y'all are gonna need somethin' in you're to keep movin'," she told them. "I've gone without food for a few days before, I'm fine. Now sit, eat. I'll even say please."

"Will…" Eli started but she cut him off.

"Eat the damn oatmeal. I'll be fine," she told him. He finally gave in. He and Casey split the food.

Will was in pain, and she was starving but she would never tell the boys that. The difference between them and her, she could take it. She could handle pain. She could handle her guilt. She could take going days without food. Casey was sixteen years old, he was just a kid. Just like Hannah. No matter what they say, kids can't handle pain. They shouldn't have to. Will was trying to protect him from all the pain this world has to offer. It was the real reason why she didn't let him come on the run to the walk-in clinic with her. Or why since meeting them, she always felt the need to clear the houses alone. She didn't want them to lose who they were. It's why she wasn't going to tell them about the fights.

About an hour later, after they'd finished the food, the door opened once more. This time armed guards came in. There were about four of them. Willow positioned herself between them and the boys.

"Get the fuck away," she snarled.

"You don't look like you got much fight in you right now," one of the guards laughed.

"Yeah? Come any closer and you'll see what kind of fight I've got in me," she threatened.

She prepared herself to fight, but one of the guards hit her with the back of his rifle right in the gut. She dropped to her knees, feeling the wind be knocked right out of her lungs. She felt two guards roughly grab her and start dragging her out. Will cast a look over her shoulder to see the other two were dragging Eli and Casey behind her.

She remembered this route, they'd taken it yesterday on her way to the caged arena. Only, this time, instead of turning left towards the gym, the guards dragged them out one of the back entrances and out to a race track. There was one guard posted at the door. Will frantically looked around to see the school had high walls surrounding the building and the fields. From what she could see, there were armed sentries standing guard in every direction. There was a thick and lush forest behind them. In the field, she saw more guards along with other prisoners.

At the bottom of the stands she saw Nick. Her guards dropped her and she landed on the ground with a hard thud. She cringed slightly at the pain. Eli and and Casey were dropped next to her as well. Nick did not acknowledge them, his eyes remaining on his clipboard.

"Alright, Lou, take gimpy to Ava in the kitchen and Ian, take junior down to the back field," he ordered one of the guards.

"Don't you fuckin' touch them," Will said in a dangerous voice.

"Now now, no need to get testy, we ain't gonna hurt them," Nick explained. "Their just gonna start workin'. That food we gave y'all this mornin', well unfortunately that don't come cheap. Go on Lou, take 'em."

Casey and Eli started to struggle against Lou and Ian but Will looked back at them and shook her head. She knew what resisting would get them. They snapped out of it and began to walk with Lou. Willow turned back and glared at Nick.

"Now, Will, right?" Nick asked. She didn't answer him. "Mick's gotta job for you." His lips curled into a smile. "Carter, Lee, take her to the pits."

She decided not to struggle this time. Her body still throbbed from earlier. She let Carter and Lee lead her over to the pits. She noticed that her two guards weren't much. If it they hadn't been carrying rifles, Willow believed she could take them. She was led through a gate and down a path, which led away from the school and deeper into the woods. The chain-linked gate was locked with a padlock. She watched as Carter reached into his pocket and pulled the keys out. There were about four keys on the key ring. The one he used had a purple cover. The fence was at least a good ten or so feet tall. It looked as though Mick's group added barbed wire on top. Her heart started pounding at the sight of a large graveyard.

"What the hell am I supposed to do here?" She asked. That was when Carter tossed her a shovel. About five feet away, she saw there was a body. She recognized him as Tim, the man she killed last night.

"Start digging," Carter said. "And if you even think about runnin', just know, we'll catch you, 'n those two boys, they'll be the next graves you dig."

She glared at them before wandering to the two corpses. Tim's eyes were still wide open, his face frozen in that same mask of fear. She looked away, and focused on digging. The hot sun beat down on her, the longer she dug, the more her muscles started to tire. She dirt mixed with her coat of sweat. Willow looked over at her two guards, who sat under a shaded tree. Will was glad she'd discarded her hoodie, now she worked only in her black t-shirt.

Her dehydration made her tongue feel like it was sandpaper in her mouth. Her lips were dry and cracking. Her throat screamed for water. She must've been digging for at least a few hours. She finished one grave and weakly climbed out. She swallowed whatever saliva remained in her mouth before turning to Tim's dead corpse. She gagged at the smell that was coming off of him. She bent down and closed his eyes.

"Go on, he ain't gonna move himself," Lee mocked from under his shady tree.

 _Fuck you,_ she refrained from saying. Instead, she wordlessly grabbed Tim by the ankles and began dragging him. She dragged him until he was parallel to the hole. Will knew she wasn't strong enough to lift him. At least not at this point, she was dehydrated, hungry, and in pain.

" _Sometimes, you gotta turn it off,"_ she remembered telling Casey back at the General store.

" _Turn what off?"_ He'd asked.

" _The part that makes us human."_

And that's what she'd do. For weeks, she'd been trying to hold onto that part of her. She didn't want to turn back into that monster that only had surviving on the brain, but maybe that was the problem. Looking down at Tim, she realized that last night it had been luck that she'd won. He'd fought but once Will got the jump on him, he couldn't bounce back. Will knew that she'd have to fight again, they weren't the only ones here.

" _You gotta do whatever you gotta to win,"_ her sister told her.

Rolling Tim's corpse in the hole, she knew what she had to do. She buried her guilt down along with him. Every shovel full of dirt she felt her heart freezing. She got now why Mick brought her out here, he wanted to teach her a lesson. He wanted to make her feel afraid of him. He wanted to break her. But he was going to see, Willow Taylor doesn't break easy.

After she'd finished filling in the grave, Lee and Carter dragged her back through the field. She'd been out digging all day, by the time they made it to the school, the sun had gotten lower. It wasn't quite dusk yet, but she figured it would be soon.

"Kid needs painkillers," she told her guards once they got inside the building and were headed down towards their cell.

"Damn, you're just itchin' to get back in that arena, ain't you?" Carter said. Will glared.

"Tell Mick," she said. "There's some in my pack." Carter smirked as Lee opened the door to her cell and pushed her in.

Casey and Eli were brought back in a few moments later looking ragged. Eli limped over and popped two more antibiotics in his mouth. Casey looked as though he was trying to cover something.

"Where did they take you?" Eli asked.

"Somewhere just passed the fences, where they put the dead," she explained. "How're you feelin'?"

"Like shit. What do you mean where they put the dead?" Eli asked.

"Don't matter," she told them.

Casey looked up to reveal a black eye and a cut bleeding lip.

"Jesus, Casey, what happened?" She asked.

"O-One of the g-guys j-jumped m-me," he explained. "H-He s-said y-you k-killed h-his f-friend. D-Did y-you?"

Will stiffened and looked down at the ground.

 _I did what I had to do._

They sat on the wall in silence as the door opened once more. Will walked up to see two bottles of waters at the entrance. She picked them up off the ground and walked back over to them.

"We'll split," she said. Eli reached into his pocket and pulled out a granola bar. He handed it to her.

"Because I know it's been days since you've had anything," he explained. "I stole it from the pantry."

"That was stupid," she snapped. "If they find out…"

"They won't," he protested. "Will, you look like shit. You gotta eat something, drink some water. Let someone actually give a shit about you."

Will went to protest again, but her hunger overpowered her. She took the granola bar and unwrapped it. She ate slowly, making sure to to savor every bite. Eli handed her a water bottle and she took a sip. The water tasted heavenly against her sand paper tongue. She passed the bottle to Eli, who shook his head. He gave a side look to Casey, who didn't move. He had the other bottle in his lap. He couldn't even look at her.

"Casey… I'm sorry about what happened," she said. "There's a lot o' things that you don't know, that neither of you know. What I'm doin', what I did, I'm doin' all to keep y'all safe. I'm doin' it so you don't have to. I just need you to trust me, okay? Just trust me."

Casey said nothing, he merely nodded. She looked at Eli, who nodded as well.

Once Will finished the granola bar, Eli hid the wrapper in his shoe, saying that he'd find somewhere to hide it later. The door opened once more, Carter and Lee came back in.

"On your feet," Carter barked. Will glared at him. "C'mon bitch, up you get."

Will stood up and let herself be let out by them. She looked back at the boys and gave them a nod. She walked down the same path she did the day before until she was outside the gym. This time, her opponent was already in the ring. It was a woman this time. She looked about the same height as Will, same amount of muscle too. The woman didn't look all that threatening, but Will knew better than to underestimate a person based on their size. Raven was about a head shorter than she was, and she always managed to kick Will's ass.

Her eyes met with Mick's, her hatred towards him igniting the fury in her bones. He'd tried to break her, but instead, he gave Will more reason to fight. She would win, and when she got the chance, Mick's the first name on her list. She wasn't listening at the same speech he gave the night before. She didn't want to know the woman's name. She saw the bottle of painkillers along with something that looked strangely like a can of peaches. While Will hadn't been here long, she guessed the meal they got this morning was about as good as it was going to get.

When he announced the fight to start, Will didn't hang back like she did last time. She went immediately on the offensive. She pushed back any pain that she had, letting the rage fill her. She knocked the woman right in the jaw. Her fist reared back again and she punched the woman in the nose. The woman started fighting back. She swiped, her long nails scratching Willow's arm. She lunged forward and clawed again, only this time taking a chunk of her skin in the process.

Will hit her in the throat. The woman fell back and hit the metal bars hard. She collapsed to the ground and Willow stepped over her fallen body. She hoisted her up so she was on her knees. Willow closed her eyes and tried not to cringe as she snapped the woman's neck.

She took a few deep breaths. Her arm was bleeding from the scratches. Her nostrils flared at the satisfied look on Mick's face. Carter and Lee came and grabbed her. She didn't fight them as they led her back to her cell. Carter handed her the painkillers. The bottle had been emptied so there were only enough for the next day. The peaches must've been for the woman.

She didn't speak as she walked back into her cell. She simply handed the bottle to Eli and went back to her corner.

 _I did what I had to do._

 _I did what I had to do._

She grabbed the metal spoon from under her hoodie and started rubbing it against the ground and began filing it down.

 _A week later_

Every day was the same here. Will would wake up, give whatever food she could to Eli and Casey, eat a tiny portion of it herself. The three of them would be taken from their cell and to their 'jobs'. Casey dug up rocks in order to clear the way for an expanded fence. Eli ended up there too, now that his leg was beginning to heal. The infection had started clearing up. He still had some trouble walking on it, but it was getting better. Will, every day, was taken out to the pits. Every day she dug a new grave. It was always of the person she'd killed the night before. Six people, six lives, that's what she'd taken. She fought for bandages, more painkillers, antibiotics. Apparently, that first bottle had been emptied so there was only enough to last two days. Just like the painkillers had.

Will tried to become numb to it. She'd killed four men and two women. She didn't know their names, it distanced them from her, from what she did. Still, every time she breathed the pain she felt in her ribs remained a firm reminder. Last fight she had, her opponent got a few lucky kicks to her ribs.

It was getting harder to hide what she was doing to the boys. She didn't talk as much anymore, and lost consciousness a few times when she got back. Whenever she had a free moment, she'd sit in the corner and file the spoon. The handle was sharp enough that it could pierce skin. Will, of course tested it on herself first. She scratched a line in her skin and it drew blood.

On her second day here, Will found out the truth about the virus. While she was burying the woman she killed, Willow noticed she had a stab wound to the temple.

" _I didn't do that,"_ she remembered questioning.

" _Nah, we did,"_ Lee answered.

" _Why? I killed her."_

" _How stupid are you?"_ Carter asked. Will gave him a curious look. _"Oh shit, Lee, she doesn't know. Well, darlin', don't matter if how you die, unless you get stabbed or shot in the head, you turn."_

She remembered feeling shocked, but it didn't last long. Carter hit her with the butt of his gun in the stomach and told her to get back to work. She told the boys about it when she got back that day, but they already knew. Apparently, Erin turned after she killed herself. They just assumed she knew. Then Will went to fight and took out her anger on some poor sap.

That day, after she'd finished digging her latest victims grave, Carter and Lee brought her back to her cell. Willow was beaten and weathered, but she was not broken. She had two reasons to keep fighting.

Casey showed up a couple of times with a fresh bruise. Eli came back yesterday with a black eye. Will pissed off a lot of people, and they were taking it out on her family. That's what Casey and Eli are, family. When she looked at them, she couldn't help but be reminded of the people she lost. Casey reminded her so much of Hannah. He tended to be quiet, observing and analyzing people. Hannah was sweet, she couldn't hurt a fly. While Willow knew Casey could kill walkers, she knew it was only out of necessity. He felt things too deeply, just like Hannah. They were both too pure for this dark world. Eli, on the other hand, reminded her quite a bit of her sister. He, like Lottie was fiercely protective over the people he loved. He wanted to help people, and was determined to do so. Will knew he would do whatever it takes to keep his brother safe. She knew that when the time comes, he would do what needed to be done.

Willow sat in her cell and waited for them. Eli and Casey came not too long after. They got the water drop, just as they did every day. Will knew the patterns these people had now. She started memorizing her path through the school, as well as any guards. Their way out was through the pits. She was just waiting for their opportune moment.

Eli came and sat next to her. Casey was getting a bit of sleep. It looked as though he'd gotten knocked around pretty good. Both of them did. Eli came back with a black eye and a cut on his hairline. Casey had a bruised jaw and yet another black eye.

"I'm sorry," she told them. Casey didn't say a word, instead he just went to lie down on Eli's makeshift bed.

"Why didn't you tell us what they were making you do?" Eli asked. She tilted her head in confusion. "The Gladiator fights, Will. They told us. You don't have to do them."

"Yeah, I do. I don't have a choice," she explained. "That first day, Mick said that to keep you alive…"

"So, this is all my fault?" Eli asked guiltily.

"No," she said. "Believe me, none of this is your fault. This, it's all on me. Okay, the only thing I need you to worry about is gettin' better."

"I am doing better," he retorted. "I am. You don't have to keep doing this."

"Eli, the minute I stop, the second I stop gettin' supplies… I almost lost you once. I can't… I won't. The infection's not fully gone yet. If me fightin' keeps you alive then I'm gonna do it," she told him firmly.

"I didn't ask you to do this. I didn't ask you to kill for me," he snapped.

"If I didn't, you'd be dead right now. I'd be dead. Then what would happen? Casey would be all alone. So, you're fuckin' right I'm gonna fight for you because I care about you," she said. "I'm just bidin' time 'til I figure a way outta this mess."

"And what if you die, Will? At this point you're more bruise than person," he said.

"Then I die," she shrugged. "And you're gonna get outta here. You're not gonna stop fightin'. No matter what."

" _If something were to happen to me, I need you to promise me you'll move on."_ She remembered Ollie sitting across the campfire making her promise to not give up.

" _If I die, promise me you'll look after Casey."_ Eli said to her while he was laying there, almost dead in a bed.

"If I die," she started, "promise me you'll get outta here, no matter what."

"I promise." He knew it served him no purpose to protest. He knew very well that Will could die tonight.

Will took the filed down spoon in her hand and handed it to Eli. "Here, take it. You might need to use it."

"You made a shank?" Eli asked. Will shrugged. "You're awesome."

The water drop happened. She took a few sips of the bottle. The other one Casey and Eli used. Then the door opened again. Right on schedule, Carter and Lee came and picked her up. Only, this time, they weren't alone. There was another one. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eli tuck the shank up his sleeve.

"Didn't realize lil' ol' me gets an entourage now," Will said before standing up.

"Not just you this time," Carter sneered. Her eyes widened slightly.

"What?" She asked.

"Pete, grab gimpy," Carter barked. "Oh, this'll make for one hell of a fight."

Will's eyes widened in horror.

 _No._

They were going to make her kill Eli.

Will threw herself in between them. She tackled Pete to the ground. She let herself turn into that animal once again. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Carter and Lee each had a gun trailed on her. With one quick snap, Willow killed one of the guards. Before the other two could react, she grabbed the knife from Pete's corpse and threw it so it hit Lee right in the chest. Casey stood off to the side in shock.

"You fuckin' bitch! I'll kill…" only he never finished as Eli, who'd managed to sneak behind him and stabbed him in the throat. The spoon shank stabbed into his neck once more as Carter sank to the ground, choking on his own blood. Eli stood back, his hands trembling. He still had the bloodied spoon in his hand.

"I guess this is our moment," Willow declared. She grabbed the rifle off of Pete and handed it to Casey, who's eyes were still wide. "C'mon, we don't have long. We gotta run."

Casey took the rifle with shaking hands. Will went over and grabbed the other rifle off of Lee and held it to Eli. He took it, though his eyes still couldn't tear away from Carter's now dead corpse. _Keys._ They would need keys. She knew Carter had them. He always did. She checked his pockets and quickly found them. Will grabbed the remaining rifle as well as the hunting knife from Lee's chest.

"Shouldn't we…" Eli started as Will headed to the door.

"Let 'em turn," she interrupted. "C'mon, we gotta move."

The three of them crept out of the cells and walked down the hall. When they reached the main level, Will had to remember the way. This moment was what she'd waited for, but she didn't have much of a plan. She knew most of the people would be at the ring. She was tempted to go there just so she could put a bullet through Mick's skull. But she knew if she did that, all three of them would be dead. Instead, they crept down the hall towards the side exit.

"…the fuck's takin' 'em so long?" She heard a voice coming from down the hall, the exact place they were headed.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath. She motioned for Eli and Casey to hide behind the wall. Will hid behind the opposite wall and waited.

She took a deep breath as the footsteps got closer. Will's eyes met Eli's terrified ones. There were two distinct sets. _Shit._

"Yo, Carter, Lee, Pete, how hard is it to grab a girl and a kid with a bum leg?" One of the people called out. It was a woman.

 _One._

They were right there. Maybe about a foot away.

 _Two._

Will gave a nod to Eli. Her hand rested on the knife in her hand.

 _Three._

She lunged out from her corner and grabbed the person closest to her. It was a man; she didn't give him the chance to fight back as she slit his throat. The woman let out a scream and pulled the trigger on her handgun. Will used the dead body as a shield as either Eli or Casey fired a shot, hitting the woman right in the chest. She dropped to the ground, the blood beginning to pool around her. Will dropped the man's body.

"There's gonna be more," Will urged." We gotta get out of here!"

Casey and Eli followed her lead as they sprinted through the halls. She checked over her shoulder to make sure they were still behind her. There was another guard stationed at the door, just like Will thought there would be. She fired a shot, it landed right in the center of his forehead. She pushed the door and they were out. Darkness surrounded them. She could hear frantic shouting in the distance.

"C'mon! This way," she ordered. She led them down the familiar path when she heard the first few shots ring out. Will quickly threw a glance over her shoulder to make sure the boys were still there. They were hot on her heels. Will pulled the keys out of her pocket. She fumbled around and found the one with the purple cover.

"Hurry up!" Eli urged. She heard the shots were getting closer. Eli and Casey fired off their guns blindly as Will finally managed to unlock the padlock. She pulled the door open.

"Go!" She ordered letting them go through the door first. Will took the chain and padlock in her hand and slammed the gate shut again.

"Cover me," she told the boys. The shots were getting closer and closer. She had to lock the door. Will quickly chained the gate shut and locked it from the outside. Then they started running again.

She cast a look over shoulder to see Mick standing there Eli and Casey were catching up to her again. She hadn't realized that she'd even passed them. Mick gave her a sadistic smile before pulling the trigger of his rifle.

The next thing she saw was red as blood splattered on her face.

"NO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs before she raised her rifle and pulled the trigger.


	12. Chapter 12

_No._

 _No._

 _No._

 _Oh God, please, no!_

He could hear gunshots around him. Will fired through the fence, killing some of Mick's soldiers. Maybe even Mick himself, he didn't know. All he could do was look at the collapsed body of his brother. The red spread across his chest. He had to get him out of here.

"We need to go!" Will bellowed. The gunfire had stopped. "Eli! C'mon."

Eli looked over at the gate to see corpses on the ground.

"I can't leave him," he sobbed. He crawled over to Casey, whose eyes were closed. The tears filled his eyes. "Casey?"

Casey stirred and started violently coughing. Eli could see the bullet had gone in through the side.

"Will, he's still alive," he told his companion. "Casey, it's okay man, we're gonna get you out of here. Will, help me carry him."

Will looked as though she was about to start crying. Why? Casey was going to be just fine. Eli threw her a pleading look and she came over.

"You're gonna be okay," Eli assured his little brother. The blood was still pouring out of his chest. "It's not even that bad. You're gonna be okay."

He had to be. Eli shrugged off the button down he'd been wearing for the past week and pressed it to Casey's chest. They decided that the easiest way to move him would be to have him use them as crutches. Eli and Will each grabbed a limp arm and threw it over their shoulder. Casey cried out in pain as they lifted him up off the ground.

"You're gonna be okay, just hold on. Okay, Case? Just keep breathing," he pleaded his brother.

Eli kept one hand pressed to his brother's chest, trying to stop the bleeding.

"We gotta make it to the road," Will said. "Can't be far."

They started to walk down the trail. In the darkness it was hard to know exactly in which direction they were headed, but they walked. The full moon lit their path. Eli wasn't even afraid to face the dead ones, he didn't care about any of that, right now he just needed to get Casey to safety. He had to get him home.

Casey let out yet another gasp in pain as his breath labored. Eli's sweater was soaked in blood.

"E-Eli," he croaked. Will and Eli stopped. All the colour had drained from Casey's cheeks.

"We'll set him down by that tree," Will told Eli in a hollow voice.

"B-But those people?" Eli looked back worriedly.

"They're dead," she assured. "C'mon."

Eli and Will sat Casey down at the trunk of the tree. Casey coughed again, blood dribbled from his mouth. His head lolled to the side.

"Casey?" Eli dropped to his knees in front of his brother. His eyes closed. "Case? C'mon man, this isn't funny."

Casey's chest stilled.

 _No._

"Casey?" He grabbed his little brother by the shoulders and started shaking them. "Casey, c'mon wake up. Wake up, please."

"Eli…" Will started, but she couldn't say anything as she broke down into tears.

"Casey, wake up. C'mon, just open your eyes," he begged. The tears started flowing from his eyes. "No. No. NO! Casey, please…"

"Eli…" she said again through her tears. "Eli h-he's gone."

"No, no, you can't be dead," he pleaded. He reached forward, trying to find a pulse but there was none.

Eli's eyes widened in horror.

"Casey?" He whispered desperately. Instead, even in the darkness, he could see his brother's pale skin.

 _Casey._

He couldn't control his sobs now. It felt as though his heart was being ripped out of his chest.

 _Dammit._

 _Dammit._

 _DAMMIT!_

He couldn't keep himself up anymore as he fell to his side, sobs racked his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Will taking her knife out. She too was letting out horrible sobs.

 _The virus_.

 _Oh God, Casey._

"S-Stop," he begged Will.

"Eli, we can't let him…"

"He's my brother," he interrupted. "It has to be me."

Will nodded, understanding him. She handed him the knife. Eli feels his hand tremble as he takes his knife and walks towards his brother's dead body.

 _I'm so sorry._

It should've been him. He closes his eyes as he drives the knife in Casey's skull. Fresh tears poured out of his chest. He felt like he couldn't breath. The world around him was spinning. Once again Eli dropped to the ground. He let out a loud gut wrenching cry.

 _I can't do this._

 _I can't do this without you._

* * *

Willow watched Eli cry at the foot of Casey's body. She was shaking from the grief in her chest. The entire thing was a blur. She didn't remember killing Mick, or his people. She remembered pulling the trigger again and again until she ran out. Based on the amount of bodies piled up at the fence, she'd killed at least five people. They underestimated her. She wasn't sure whether or not she'd gotten them all, but she had to get Eli to stop. Casey was in pain. Her hands found the tags around her neck. She knew that some of Casey's blood had splattered across her face when he got shot.

Oh god, Casey. Her guilt weighed heavy in her chest. It was because of her that he'd died. She should've made sure they were in front of her. She should've protected him, now he was gone. _Too pure for this world._ Casey was just a kid. She'd failed him. She said they could trust her and now he's dead.

 _Another one to add to the list._

Will knew that walkers were bound to show up sooner of later, what with all that gunfire. She kept Eli's rifle on hand. She didn't want to make him move, but they had to leave. She swallowed her grief. She couldn't let herself feel it, maybe she had to be that monster just a little while longer. She would let Eli grieve and Will would make all the tough calls. She had to do that.

"We gotta move," she told him. Her voice sounded hollow, numb. "All that gunfire, this place is bound to be full of walkers."

Eli sat up and looked at his little brother.

"I-I can't leave him," he whimpered. "I can't."

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.

"We won't," she told him. Willow put the rifle strap over her back and bent over. She didn't have much that didn't hurt at this point, but Will knew she could take it. She carried Casey's body as if he were a sack of potatoes.

Her muscles protested at the amount of dead weight on her shoulders, but she had to do this. They couldn't just leave Casey in the woods. Eli followed as they started walking deeper into the woods. They managed to stay out of sight of whatever walkers they saw. One crossed their path, but Eli took care of it with the butt of the empty rifle. He angrily smashed the walkers head in, Will had to all but pull him away.

They walked for what felt like hours. Every part of her body throbbed to a point where she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She was about to collapse when she saw a small cabin. It was a strange thing to have near a school, if they were even by that school, but they needed to hole up somewhere.

"There," she whispered and gestured towards the cabin.

Eli went to clear it since Will still had Casey's body on her shoulders. He gave the clear and she stepped in. There was a couch where Will gently laid Casey's body down.

"Thank you," Eli said in a dead voice. Will nodded and went to sit on watch.

She set up a chair facing the front door. She put the rifle on the ground and kept her knife on hand. She picked it up after Eli dropped it. Mick was dead, she knew that for sure. Good riddance. She'd seen his bald head in the moonlight. Everything happened so fast, One second Casey was there, the next he was on ground bleeding.

Her heart felt like it was about to shatter. She let herself care about them. She should've known better, after Oliver, and Andrea and Michonne, Will said she wouldn't care about anyone else anymore. Caring is a weakness in this world. Surviving is all that matters.

" _That's bullshit."_ Ollie, it was always Ollie. She hadn't seen him since the first house after the general store.

 _Fuck off,_ she told him. He didn't know what happened. Casey was her responsibility and she let him down. She got him killed.

Will cast a look over her shoulder to see Eli just staring at his brother's corpse, silent tears were rolling down his cheeks. She felt that guilt weigh on her once again.

She stayed perfectly still on watch. One walker went by but didn't seem to realize there were people in the cabin, if she could really call it that. It took her a while, but Will realized what this place was. It was a small clubhouse. As the sun started rising, Will started seeing more details. It was a tiny cabin that seemed to only have room for a couch. Other than that, there were a few posters, one funny enough was of _28 Weeks Later_ , that fucking zombie movie. Will noticed there was a shovel leaning up against the wall.

Eli had finally passed out at some point in the night. She didn't want to wake him up, so she quietly went over and grabbed the shovel. They couldn't take Casey with them, but they weren't going to leave him behind.

"… _those two boys, they'll be the next graves you dig."_ She remembered Carter warning her about this. He'd been right. She'd be a grave digger again. Just once more, for Casey.

She tried to push away all her feelings and focused on digging. Unlike the other six times she dug graves, Will didn't take her time. All the pent up anger she had, she channeled it into digging. By the time the sun rose completely, she was waist deep in the ground. Her already tired muscles complained even more. She was straining herself to a point where it felt like she would collapse.

Will heard the moaning coming towards her. She looked up from her hole and saw two walkers heading towards her. Their rotting teeth snapped hungrily. Her nostrils flared in anger. Because of those fucking things, her husband was dead. She'd gotten separated from Andrea and Michonne. Casey and Eli lost their entire group. All because of them. Will climbed out of the hole. She grabbed the shovel and angrily charged at them.

She raised the shovel and smashed against one of the walkers' heads. It fell to the ground with a _thump_. It remained unmoving. The other walker came at her and she raised the shovel again before smashing it in the head. It too fell to the ground, but Will wasn't done yet. She lifted the shovel once more and started beating the living shit out of this walker. All the memories from the previous night came in flashes.

 _Pete, Lee, and Carter coming into their cell._

She brought the shovel once more down on the walker.

 _Running through the hall._

There was the sound of a skull cracking.

 _Mick's sadistic smile as he pulls the trigger._

Squish. Squish. Squish.

" _NO!"_

Dark red blood pooled around the walker's head.

 _The blood seeping through Eli's sweater as they leaned Casey against the tree._

Blood splashed up, splattering over her shirt.

" _H-he's gone."_

With trembling hands, Will let the shovel go. She felt the grief she so desperately tried to hide rise. It felt like she couldn't breath. Her knees began buckling and she collapsed to the ground on all fours as the sobs poured out of her chest.

 _Oh God, Casey. I'm so sorry._

* * *

Hannah loaded her crossbow and eyed the squirrel. She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The arrow soared through the air and landed dead center, pinning the squirrel to the tree. She grinned and looked over at Daryl who had a small smile on his face.

It had been about a week and a half since the pit incident. She got out of the sling a few days after, then Daryl insisted he take her hunting. Ever since that night, they went hunting more and more. She was getting very good with that bow. She always hit the target and now one in three shots hit the middle. Her first kill during a hunt had been a rabbit. She'd nearly cheered as the arrow skewered it. The had been about three days ago. Now she was catching squirrel.

"What're we tracking?" Hannah asked, pulling her now dead squirrel off the tree. Daryl took it from her and tied it on the piece of rope. He found a trail of something.

"You tell me," he said. Hannah stopped and crouched looking at the ground. She bit the inside of her cheek and tried to figure it out. She had a hard time seeing the tracks. The brush around was zig zagged, as though something that barely knew how to walk came through.

"A walker?" Hannah asked.

"You askin' or are you tellin'?"

"Telling?" She sounded questioning again. Daryl raised an eyebrow. She cleared her throat. "Telling. I'm telling."

"Good," he said. "'N you're right."

Hannah smirked proudly. She was getting the hang of this whole tracking and hunting thing.

They tracked the walker to a backyard. Hannah missed it, her arrow sinking into the walker's shoulder. She went to reload again as it turned towards them. She could feel the anxiety starting up once more as she raised her bow. Every instinct in her body told her to run.

"It's alright," Daryl spoke. "You got this."

Hannah took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. It hit the walker right in the eye. She grinned once again.

"Nice shot," her dad complimented. Yeah, she really was getting better at this whole thing. It was nice because finally she could actually do something that didn't make her head throb.

Daryl decided they would go look around the neighbourhood. There were a few houses they could scavenge. There wasn't much, but Hannah did manage to find a couple of cans. Hannah was walking upstairs of one of the houses. She could hear moaning and pounding from inside the bathroom. Hannah took out her knife and reached for the doorknob. She heard footsteps from behind her. She turned to see Daryl walking towards her.

"There's one in there," she said gesturing to the door.

"Go check the rest o' the rooms. I got it," Daryl said. Hannah nodded and walked away.

She went into the first room; it was painted a bright green. There were shelves full of trophies, and a rather large bookshelf. She walked over to the closet to see a few summer dresses along with some button down flannel shirts. There was a long mirror on the inside of the closet door with pictures taped around it. The that kept repeating in every picture looked to be around her age. She had long dark hair with equally dark eyes. In every picture she was smiling. Hannah's eyes drifted from the pictures to her own reflection in the mirror.

The last time Hannah really got a good look at herself, she was a tiny girl who was clean and smiled all the time. Now, her clothes were tattered, stained with blood. Her long blonde hair hadn't been washed in weeks and was getting so long, that even pulled back, and with a baseball cap on her head, it still reached the between her shoulder blades. She didn't recognize herself. She wasn't that same little girl that was too scared to hear walkers.

Hannah turned away from the mirror and grabbed a couple of shirts from the closet. She stuffed them in her bag. Her eyes darted to the huge bookshelf. It had been a while since she had an actual book to read. For the last few months, she read whatever was at the current place they were staying. Unfortunately, that meant mostly old people books. She read a biography about Eleanor Roosevelt, why? Because it was the only thing around. Her eyes darted over the titles until she picked up a hardcover book with a black and gold cover. There was a bird on it. _The Hunger Games_ , Hannah shrugged and put the book in her bag. It was better than nothing.

Hannah met back up with her father in the hallway. He was wearing a large brown blanket over his clothes. Hannah grinned, trying not to start laughing.

"What _is_ that?" She asked.

"It's a poncho," he stated. "Damn comfortable."

"You're wearing a blanket," she teased.

"Yeah? Keepin' me warm."

"You look ridiculous," she said with a joking smile. Daryl smirked.

"Yeah, well, when you're freezin' your as-butt off, don't come cryin' to me." Hannah always found it funny when the adults tried not to swear in front of her and Carl. It wasn't like she hadn't heard the words before, or even said them. Although, now she got told off for swearing. "C'mon, we gotta get back," he said. Hannah nodded and they walked out of the house.

It was probably about mid-afternoon when they made their way back to camp. Things at camp had been tense for the last bit, ever since she and Carl got back from that pit. Hannah was asleep when this happened, first time she'd actually slept in months, but apparently Carl had a massive blowout with his mom. Carl wouldn't talk to her about it.

Hannah remembered the first time she skinned a squirrel back on the farm. It was probably the most disgusting thing she'd ever done. Now, she did it with no trouble. They sat on the front porch of the small house they'd been staying at for the last few days.

She and Daryl didn't need to talk all that much. When they were hunting, they only talked about hunting. They didn't get into all the feelings stuff; which Hannah was okay with. It used to bother her sometimes, but now it was better. Hannah didn't really want to talk about her feelings. Things were finally starting to get better for her. For the most part, that is. Her family was beginning to get run-down. The tension between Rick, Carl, and Lori seemed to be affecting everyone.

Once they finished cleaning the few squirrels they caught, Daryl started a cooking fire just off the porch. They roasted the squirrels and brought them inside the small house.

"Dinner's ready," Daryl announced. They had about four squirrels ready to go. Hannah's stomach started growling at the smell of food.

She sat next to Carl during dinner. They had squirrel and canned peas on the side. It was virtually the same thing they had the last few days, but Hannah couldn't complain, they had food. Carl's cut on his cheek was healing up nicely. Hershel took out the stitches a few days ago. Glenn and Maggie had gotten back from checking for supplies, as well checking for any herds. Hannah didn't find out until about a week ago, but they were counting how many walkers were in a herd. They were tracking herds, making sure to stay ahead of them. This was why they kept moving. Whenever walkers got too close, they'd take off.

"Herd's getting closer," Glenn announced. Hannah frowned, of course it was. While she was still scared of walkers, she was used to running. All they ever did was run.

"We'll head out first thing," Rick declared. "Meantime, keep the lights off, stay quiet and inside." Well, so much for reading tonight.

"Where're we headin'?" Maggie asked.

"Keep goin' south-east. Haven't been around Greenville yet," Rick explained. "T, you're on first watch. In about two hours we'll switch, Glenn, you and Maggie've got second."

Like Carl and Hannah, Glenn and Maggie were a package deal when it comes to watch. They were always together. Rick continued explaining the watch schedule. Hannah and Carl didn't get one tonight, which meant they might get one tomorrow. That's usually how it went. The only person who didn't have watch was Lori, and that entirely because of the baby. She was due soon. At least that's what Hershel said. Hannah still hadn't gotten the knack of not eaves dropping. She couldn't help it, having spent most of her life deaf, Hannah tuned in as much as she could.

"Rest o' you get some rest," Rick said. "Got a long day tomorrow."

* * *

Day one: They buried Casey. It was quiet, and neither of them spoke.

Day two: Will found a house where they could stay a bit.

Day three: Eli still hasn't spoken a word. They went back to the school to finish what they started, only it was on fire.

Day four: The nightmares started again for Willow. She found more painkillers for Eli. She had to force him to take some.

Day five: Walkers came, and they had to run. They found a car and started driving, they ran out of gas outside of Greenville.

Day six: They found a small convenience store. Eli started talking in his sleep again. Will hasn't slept since the nightmares began. She found a pack of smokes.

Day seven: The voices came back.

Will was sitting at the back of the store, watching over a sleeping Eli. On her other side, Ollie sat there humming some song. She didn't want to tell him to screw off in fear of waking Eli up. He hadn't really slept in the last week. Now they didn't know what to do. There was no path. The only reason Eli wanted to come home in the first place was because of Casey.

She didn't know what to do. Every time she tried to talk, he wouldn't respond. The closest she got to a reaction was when they went back to the school, rifles in hand, and saw it up in flames. The corners of his mouth twitched like he might smile before he flipped the building off. Will had to drag him away.

The kid was slipping. Whenever they saw walkers, Eli turned into a completely different person. Honestly, he was reminding her a lot of the person she was after Oliver. That thought terrified her. What she was… what she became, she couldn't let Eli turn into that.

The next morning, they left the convenience store. There wasn't any food there, they hadn't eaten in a few days. They were running low on water too. All they had were two backpacks with a change of clothes, a near empty bottle of water, some Tylenol and bandages. While she carried around the rifle, Will never fired it. After what happened, she didn't want to think about what had happened. Besides, there was no need to attract any unwanted attention. They were walking down a street when Will stopped in front of a house. The windows where all boarded up.

"Here," she declared.

" _Sure about that?"_ Oliver questioned. He was always questioning her now. It was getting a bit annoying.

"Good a place as any," she voiced answering Oliver's question.

Eli wordlessly followed her to the door. It wasn't locked, which was not promising, but they needed a place to stay the night. If they were lucky, there might be some food. The thought of food made her stomach growl. She shut the door behind them and then started pounding on the wall, if there were any walkers in here, they'd show themselves.

The first walker came down the hall. The second one came from the upper level and stumbled down the steps. Eli didn't wait a second. He immediately pounced on the walkers coming towards them. He had his knife – one that they found along the way – in hand. Will went and quickly dispatched the other walker. She looked to see Eli still struggling with his walker. It was on top of him now. Willow ran over and stabbed the walker in the head. It collapsed on top of him. Eli roughly pushed it off and got up.

"I had it," he snapped.

"Yeah, definitely looked like you did," she replied sarcastically. Eli rolled his eyes and started to walk away.

Will wasn't exactly sure what sparked her next outburst, but she was furious.

"Don't you walk away from me!" She called after him. Eli stopped in his tracks. "You know what, I'm fuckin' sick of this. You can't just shut down, Eli. I know how you're feelin' and it's a lot easier…"

" _You_ know how I'm feeling?" Eli interrupted. "Are you fucking kidding me?! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Eli stepped closer to her, his face bright red. Will recoiled slightly. "You have no idea what it's like. You've got a sister and a niece out there and you won't look for them. You have no fucking clue how I feel!"

At this, Will was starting to see red. He didn't know what she'd lost. How close she came to disappearing completely.

"I watched my husband die!" She yelled. Eli's eyes widened slightly. "My best friend died in my arms! And it feels like there's this fucking hole in my chest that's gonna swallow me whole. Every fuckin' day I gotta push myself through it. So don't fuckin' dare tell me that I don't know!"

Those stupid tears were coming back. She had to hold herself up on the wall. She could feel those terrible memories rising in the back of her mind. She sank to the ground and couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She was done. Casey dying, all the people she'd killed, she was tired. Eli came and sank down to the floor next to her. They both just sat there and cried.

"I'm so damn tired," he finally said. "I don't know if I can keep fighting. I don't know if I want to."

Will wiped the tears from her eyes. She had to push away how much she wanted it all to stop for him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her chip. After all this time, it was the one thing she never lost. She passed it over to Eli.

"I was a soldier," she told him. "Before everythin', I was in the army. I went to war in Iraq 'n I saw a lot of shit. When I got back… the only way I could sleep at night was because of a bottle of whiskey, or gin, or whatever. I did a lot o' things I'm not proud of. I met Ollie cause one mornin' I woke up in the hospital.

"It took me three tries but I got it. Haven't had a drink in three years," she explained. "After I lost my husband, then I got separated from my last group… I lost it again. I was hearin' things, seein' things that weren't there. I was just about to give up one day, had a bottle o' whiskey in my hand and I was just gonna quit."

"Why didn't you?" Eli asked.

"Cause I heard this guy yellin' for help," she explained. "I look out and see this kid half carryin' this other guy with a heard of walkers followin' them. So I put the bottle down and ran out to help. You and Casey, you saved my life. You brought me back."

"Casey's gone," he said, fresh tears pouring from his eyes. "He's gone."

"I'm sorry," she told him.

"He's gone," he repeated. Will pulled him in her arms and he cried into her shirt. She comforted him, while tears rolled down her cheeks.

 _The next day_

They left the house early in the morning, with no food Will wasn't sure how long they would last. They were just outside of Greenville. Eli decided he didn't want to go back.

" _It was never really my home,"_ he told her. _"I grew up in Illinois. I was going to college when they moved to Greenville."_

Instead, they decided to by-pass Greenville and head North. There had to be some place out there that was safe, or at least somewhere they could actually live.

They were weak, hungry. They used up the last of their water that morning. Will knew they had to find food fast. She spotted a small grocery store down the street. There were maybe three walkers in the road. The grocery store windows were boarded up. Will and Eli walked up to it. Eli had his rifle raised. She carefully opened the door, praying that there weren't any walkers.

Of course, there were, but only a couple. Will killed two while Eli took down the other one. They scanned the aisles. The store was much bigger than she anticipated. The tall aisles offered plenty of cover.

Will almost cheered in joy when she found a can of peaches. She showed it to Eli who smiled slightly. She put the can in her bag and they kept looking. They found a couple of protein bars and some Gatorade. She handed one of the bottles to Eli.

"We'll hold up here for the night," she decided. "Get some food in us. We'll leave in the mornin'."

"Then where?" Eli asked. "Just gonna keep walking? Keep surviving?"

Will shrugged. "Yeah. We keep movin', we always keep movin'."

"Why?" Eli asked.

"'Cause givin' up's too easy," she answered. "'Cause we gotta. We can't give up, not ever. There's always a reason to keep goin'."

Eli didn't respond. He just kept looking at the shelves. Will knew that he wasn't going to snap out of it overnight. She didn't. Ollie wasn't around anymore, she supposed that was a good thing. There was only her talking in her head.

They dropped their bags off in the bakery aisle. There were still packs of sprinkles hanging. Willow took one. She loved eating sprinkles growing up.

Will and Eli dragged the three walker bodies to the very back of the store. While she was still in some pain from the fights, she pushed it away. She'd gotten surprisingly good at that. They stuck them in the meat cooler. When they walked back from the main part of the store when she heard the front doors open.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath. She grabbed Eli and they hid in a nearby aisle. She could hear footsteps. They didn't drag like walkers' steps. Which means they're human. After Mick, Will knew how dangerous people could be.

"We need to grab the bags and go."

Eli nodded. Will took her rifle off her back and kept it in her hands, just in case. Eli followed suit.

As quietly as they possible could, the two cautiously stepped out from their hiding spot and walked to the bakery section. It was there she saw a man bent over their packs. He had brown curly hair, and was wearing a tan coloured shirt. Will cocked her rifle. She noticed his hand go towards the gun in the holster attached to his belt.

"Hands up, asshole," she said pointing the rifle right at his head. He turned his head and looked at them.

His eyes, they were bright blue. Will's eyes widened in familiarity. _Holy shit._ She lowered her rifle. All the sudden, she was back on the farm. She remembered his kind eyes. She remembered that boy, his son, laying in the bed.

" _Here, take this."_ He's the one that gave her the gun.

His eyes widened in recognition too. She opened her mouth to speak. All she said was his name.

"Rick?"

* * *

 **So a lot happened. I figured that I wouldn't pull a Season 6 finale and make everyone wait six months to find out who died (I mean seriously, who thought that was a good idea?). Unfortunately, Casey didn't survive, but I feel like I made up for it with Will and Eli finally meeting up with the group. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, you guys are amazing!**

 **Also, just a little fyi, I have a YouTube channel where I occasionally will post fanvideos. My channel is called 100markProductions.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review, they always make my day.**


	13. Chapter 13

Daryl walked through the aisles. There wasn't much left. Hannah, Glenn, and Maggie were checking the pharmacy next door. He wandered through the grocery store, Carl trailing behind him.

They'd been just outside Greenville for a few days now. They'd found a house and managed to keep ahead of the herd.

"Hands up, asshole." He heard the woman's voice coming from the next aisle over. Daryl looked down at Carl, his eyes wide with a panic.

" _Stay here,"_ Daryl mouthed. Of course, Carl didn't listen. Daryl didn't bother to tell him off. His concern was helping Rick. He wasn't sure how many people were there, but they had one of his people. He'd be damned if he let anything happen.

Daryl crept back down the aisle. He kept his crossbow raised. His mind drifted over to Hannah. He worried about these people. If they were looking around, they could find her and the others. He needed to push that away. He needed to help Rick.

He peered around the corner to see the back of some guy, he couldn't see a woman. He walked out, his crossbow raised. The closer he got, he saw her. She stood there with long curly blonde hair and a rifle pointed at Rick.

"Rick?" She asked. She sounded so familiar.

Daryl froze in his steps. _Charlie?_ No, it wasn't her. She was long gone now. He saw the kid turn towards him. Daryl kept his bow raised. The kid's eyes narrowed as he pointed his rifle towards him.

"Will," he spoke up. _Will?_

She turned away from Rick and towards him. Her brown eyes widened in recognition. Holy shit, Willow. It was Charlotte's sister. She changed quite a bit since the last time he saw her. Her face had healing cuts, as well as a fading black eye. He saw fading black tally lines on her arm. They looked like tally marks. One thing that hadn't changed was how hard her expression was.

"You," she said, the rifle now raised and pointed at him.

"You know these guys?" The kid asked. Kid couldn't be much older than Beth.

"Yeah. They're with my sister and niece," she explained. Will looked back towards them. "Charlotte?"

Daryl stiffened. She didn't know. Of course she didn't. He looked down at the floor guiltily. Charlotte wanted him to find her sister, and honestly after everything, he'd forgotten about her. Willow looked between Rick and Daryl. Rick was also looking down at the ground and shook his head. Her rifle lowered and she leaned back on the empty shelves.

"Oh," was all she said. She put two and two together, it wasn't that hard. He was surprised there wasn't a bigger reaction.

"I'm so-" Rick started.

"Hannah?" Willow cut him off. The kid looked over at her. Daryl couldn't see the look on her face.

"She's okay," Daryl spoke up. "Checkin' the pharmacy with Glenn."

"Good," she sighed. "Long as she's okay."

"Where're y'all set up?" Will asked. Daryl and Rick shared a look. "There's only two of us. We haven't eaten in days… Or slept…"

"Weren't you the person who said we were broken?" Carl chimed in from the back. Daryl forgot the boy was there.

Apparently, Willow did too. She jumped and then looked at the boy.

"I was wrong," she told them earnestly. "I know that now. Hannah's my family."

Rick gave a curt nod to Daryl. It wasn't like they were about to turn away Charlie's sister. Even though, from what he could remember, she wasn't exactly his number one fan. However, Daryl owed it to Charlie. He promised he'd find her. She's Hannah's family too.

"We're at a house not too far," Daryl said.

"I think we got all we can from here," Rick declared. He kept throwing looks at the kid. "I don't think we got your name."

"Eli. His name's Eli," Will answered. "He's a friend." Eli stood stone faced.

There was something about him that Daryl didn't trust. Probably because he was a stranger. If Willow wasn't Charlotte's sister, they wouldn't be taking her in. Good people are hard to come by these days, if there are any left at all. He couldn't exactly trust Willow, from what he remembered from the farm, she wasn't exactly all that stable. The kid seemed even less so. Still, can't exactly leave them behind. She's blood after all.

* * *

Charlotte was dead. She was gone. Will had lost her older sister and didn't even know. She had to swallow the lump that was growing in her throat. A part of her just always assumed Charlotte was dead, another hoped she was still alive. Now _knowing_ that she would never see her sister again, it was devastating.

She wouldn't let herself fall apart. She could do that alone. Especially around Daryl. That son of a bitch. She didn't trust him, not after what he did. Still, Hannah was with them, which means Will would stay. Besides, she knew she'd been wrong about a majority of the group. They weren't bad people. She trusted Andrea, and Andrea trusted them. It might do Eli some good to be around people that aren't her.

Will followed Rick, the asshole, and Rick's son. She couldn't quite remember his name. The only reason she remembered Rick's was because he gave her the gun. They left the store and walked over to a green Hyundai, a large pick up truck, and a motorcycle. Eli and Will were a few steps behind them.

"Can we trust them?" Eli asked in a low voice.

"Yeah," she assured. "We can. They're good people." Well, most of them were.

When they got closer, Will saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to get a better look. It was a girl wearing a baseball cap. She was with a young man and another girl. It took her a second, but it was her, clear as day. She was taller, a little bit skinnier, but it was still her.

"Hannah," she breathed. Will took off, she started sprinting towards her niece.

She wrapped her arms around Hannah, and hugged her tightly. Hannah was alive. The last of her family was standing there. She was okay. She was alive. _Thank God._ She'd gotten so big. Will could hardly believe this was the same little girl she held in her arms thirteen years ago. Hannah's arms stayed stuck to her sides.

"You're here. You're alive," she said relieved. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Hannah wiggled and wrapped her arms around Will. Her shoulders shook, as though she was crying. Will felt the tears start to fall from her eyes. She was here. Hannah was okay.

Will and Eli sat in the back seat of the Hyundai. Hannah was wedged in between them. Rick and Carl, she finally remembered his name, were in the front seat. The asshole was on the bike, and the other two – Will knew them, but she had trouble remembering their names – took the truck. The ride was quiet. Eli stared out the window. Will kept looking over at Hannah, fearing that she would disappear at any given moment.

Charlotte was dead, but Hannah was still alive. Willow never expected to see her niece ever again. After all the shit she's had to live through, after everything she's lost, finding Hannah is the one good thing. If Hannah hadn't been with the group, Will doubted she would've gone with them.

They pulled up to the run down looking house just on the outskirts of the small town. There was a black man standing watch. She recognized him too. _I should've really written these names down._ It wasn't like Andrea really talked about the farm. Until that last day, Willow never wanted to talk about the people she left behind. She stepped out of the truck and grabbed her pack.

"Is that…" the man on watch, T-something, started.

"Get inside, we'll explain everythin'," Asshole said while getting off of his bike. The other two got out of the truck and unloaded their supplies. Hannah, Carl, and the other two from the truck walked through the front door. The asshole –she decided to always refer to Daryl as this since that's what he was – followed them. This left only Will, Eli, and Rick outside.

"C'mon inside," Rick gestured. Eli gave her a questioning look, wondering if they should go in, Will gave him a nod and he followed Rick inside.

Will walked through the threshold of the small, ramshackle house. She walked down the front hall into a living room, where a group of familiar looking people were hugging each other. There was a tense silence when she walked into the room. An older woman with short grey hair gasped.

"Hi," Will waved awkwardly.

"Y-You're Charlotte's sister," the woman pointed out.

"Yeah," she replied awkwardly.

"Who's the kid?" T-something asked pointing at Eli.

"That's Eli," Rick spoke. "Came across them in the grocery store in town."

Will's eyes drifted across the group, they were a lot smaller than the last time she'd seen them. They looked run-down, and much stronger than they had before. The woman with long brown hair, she remembered her being Rick's wife, looked very pregnant. Will swallowed the lump in her throat, Charlotte should be here.

"My name's Glenn," the guy from the truck introduced himself to Eli. "That's Maggie," the girl he was with, "Hershel," the old man, "T-Dog," right so it was a T-something, "Lori," Rick's wife, "Carol," the older woman, "Beth," a pretty young blonde girl, "and you've already met Rick, Daryl, Carl, and Hannah."

Will was thankful Glenn said their names. How awkward would it have been if she went to talk to one of them only to not know their name? Especially considering that she's met them before. Her mom always tried to teach her how to be a proper polite lady, and that included remembering names of random people she encountered in the street. Obviously, that never really worked. Or maybe it had, since not remembering their names caused her a little bit of anxiety.

Eli stood on her left and gave an awkward wave. She understood his feelings, last group they met weren't good people. But Hannah was here, and despite all her past misgivings, she believed they were good.

Later, they made some dinner. Will salivated at the smell of food. She sat next to Eli. She took a few bites of the canned beans and cooked squirrel. It was heavenly, then again everything would taste heavenly to her since she hadn't eaten in days. Eli played around with his food, but hadn't taken a bite.

"You gotta eat somethin'," she urged. He took a bite of the food.

"Happy?" He asked.

"Ecstatic," she replied. "C'mon eat up."

"Yes, ma'am," Eli mumbled under his breath. Will rolled her eyes and got up.

She brought her dishes over to the dishwashing pot where Carol was standing, cleaning the pots. She remembered Carol from the farm, Andrea told her about Sophia.

"I can take that," she said sweetly.

"It's okay, I can do my own," Will objected. She didn't want people to clean up after her.

"Really, it's no trouble," Carol insisted. "Get some rest, looks like you haven't slept in days."

That's because she hadn't. Will gave a small grateful smile before going back to the living room. It was dark now. She didn't talk to anybody, not even Hannah. Her niece was helping Carl clean the guns. They were smiling about something. It was good seeing her smile, she'd forgotten what that looked like. Hannah still looked the same, only much taller, her eyes a little colder. But she was still her, and that meant everything to Will.

Will found a corner in the deserted dining room, luckily there was a door, which meant she could have a few moments alone. She sat, leaning against the wall, and finally let herself feel. She couldn't let herself process it in front of the others. Eli was still processing what happened to his brother. She needed to be strong for him, and that meant bottling up her emotions until she was alone.

Charlotte was dead. She'd died thinking that Will hated her. The last time they spoke, it ended in a screaming match. Willow would never get to make up with her. They would never get past it.

 _She's dead._

Willow couldn't bear it. She let the tears flow freely from her eyes. _I'm sorry Lottie._ She should've been there. She should've gone back to the farm. She should've saved her sister. She should've saved Oliver. She should've saved Casey. She brought her knees up to her chest and sobbed.

Charlotte was gone, and Willow never even got to say goodbye.

* * *

Aunt Will was here, Hannah couldn't believe it. She never thought she'd see her again. Yeah, a part of her was still a little mad because she left the farm, but after everything with her mom, she didn't want to be mad anymore. It wasn't worth being angry, and honestly, she was too tired to be angry.

Hannah was a little weary of the new guy, Eli. She didn't trust new people, after all last time they brought in someone new, he turned and bit her mom. He mostly just sat in the corner of the living room with a blank expression. She found herself observing him, as though he were an animal in a zoo. He had messy brown hair and a few cuts and fading bruises around his eye. Whatever happened to her aunt and Eli, it didn't look pretty. His hazel eyes seemed to be completely void of emotion. She didn't trust him, but she was curious about what happened.

Her gaze was torn away from Eli when she felt a tap on her shoulders. She turned around to see Carl there. She'd been cleaning the guns before getting distracted.

' _You O.K.'_ Carl asked. Since this was how they could talk privately now, Carl practiced his signing everyday. It was getting to a point now where Hannah rarely had to repeat herself with him, like she did everyone else.

' _Yeah. Got distracted.'_

She knew she could tell Carl her worries about Eli, they told each other everything. This included Carl's little crush on Beth. The first time he told her, they were standing together on watch about a week ago. It took everything in her not to burst out laughing. He had as much of a chance with Beth as Hannah did with Harry Potter. Sure, the latter was a fictional character, but the sentiment remained. Beth was like an older sister to them. There would be nothing more that happened between them.

' _Do you trust him?'_ Hannah asked, her eyes flickered towards the young man in the corner.

' _I don't know. He is stranger, but your aunt trusts him,'_ he pointed out. Carl told her exactly what happened in the grocery store, how her aunt confessed that she'd been wrong about the group.

 _Finally_ , Hannah thought. It would've been more helpful if she'd realized this like six months ago when they were still at the farm. A part of her wondered if having Aunt Will around would've made a difference, if it would've changed how things happened.

No one could've stopped her mom from going into the forest that night. It had taken her a while, but she finally realized it. No matter what, her mom would've followed Shane into that forest. He would've still stabbed her and left her to die. Randall would've still turned and bit her. Hannah would still hate Shane; she would always hate him.

"You're daydreaming again," Carl said vocally this time. Hannah snapped out of her thoughts.

' _Sorry.'_

' _You sure you are okay?'_ He asked. She gave him a small smile.

' _Yeah, I'm okay. Are you?'_

' _Yeah.'_ She knew that wasn't entirely true, just as he knew she wasn't entirely okay either.

"Besides comic books," Hannah started, changing the subject, "what other stuff did you do before?"

"Why are you asking?" Carl questioned.

"Well, we talk all the time, we play cards, clean guns, go on watches together… you're my best friend but I don't know a lot about who you were before," she explained.

"I did normal things," he shrugged, "like: played soccer, hung out with friends, watched TV, listened to music."

"What music did you like?" She asked.

"I dunno, everything I guess. My dad loves country, my mom too."

"I like rock," she added. Carl gave her a curious look.

"But how…?" He drifted off befuddled. Hannah gave him a small smile.

"Common misconception about deaf people, we can listen to music, just not the same way hearing people do," she explained. "If the music is loud enough, we can feel the vibrations."

"Whoa… that's really cool," Carl said in awe. "I didn't know that."

"Most people don't," she shrugged.

"But you've never actually _heard_ music, right? Like lyrics and stuff?" Carl asked.

"No," she said after a beat. "I mean, I probably did when I was little, and hearing, but I don't remember."

It wasn't long after that that they went to bed. Well, forced to go to bed after Rick and Daryl told them too. Eli moved from his corner and went to the dining room where her aunt was sleeping. She knew it was dumb to be so worried, but she didn't like the idea of him being alone with her aunt. Hannah's make-shift bed was next to Beth's, they were both close to the wall. Carl slept across the room.

 _The Next Morning_ :

Hannah was the first one awake, just as she always was. Glenn was on watch this morning. Surprisingly enough, he was alone. There wasn't much light, which meant that it must be early dawn. Hannah put back in her implants. Her eyes drifted over the group, she didn't see her Aunt Will or Eli. A part of her wondered if maybe she'd left again, until she remembered that they were in the dining room. The door was left wide open. Hannah quietly crept over and peaked in. Aunt Willow was asleep, curled up on the ground. She used her pack as a pillow. Eli was asleep a little bit closer to the threshold. Or, at least, she thought he was asleep. As Hannah peered into the room, she saw his hazel eyes meeting hers. She jumped back and quietly scurried to the living room.

She went back to her makeshift bed and pulled out her book. She'd finished _The Hunger Games_ the previous day. Hannah loved it, almost as much as she loved _Harry Potter_. It was a story about survival in a ruined world. Normally, Hannah read books to escape the crappiness that is her life, but this time it stuck with her because of how similar things were to Katniss. Sure, she wasn't exactly in an arena pitted against twenty-three other kids, but Hannah was still fighting to survive in a ruined world.

Now, she was reading a book she'd found when they first cleared the house. There was a small library in one of the bedrooms. There wasn't much selection, but she settled on an old tattered copy of _The Princess Bride_. Seeing the title made her smile, her Granny loved that movie. She didn't know it was a book. Perhaps an escape to a fairytale land where everything ends happily is exactly what Hannah needed at this moment. Hannah removed her implants, something she only did to sleep, and leaned up against the wall. If she was going to escape, she might as well do it right.

Hannah was a few chapters in when someone tapped on her shoulder. Hannah jumped up slightly and looked up to see Carl standing there.

' _I want to show you something,'_ he signed.

Hannah put her implants back in her ears and dog-eared the page in her book. She got up from her spot and followed Carl out of the room. He led her up the winding stairs to the bedrooms. No one from the group ever actually stayed in the rooms, just in case they had to run fast in the middle of the night. Besides, there was safety in numbers, Hannah knew that she felt safer being around her family. Still, occasionally Hannah really wanted to sleep in a bed.

"Why are we up here?" Hannah asked.

"Just trust me," he said.

He led her into one of the rooms, one that obviously belonged to a teenager. The walls were painted a dark forest green, the walls were covered with posters of the Atlanta Braves and of movies like _The Dark Knight_. The bed was messy and unmade, and clothes strewn across the floor. There was a desk with a white laptop sitting on top of a desk. Hannah didn't look at the bedrooms this time, well, minus the one where she found the book. After that, she didn't need to look at the other ones. He sat her down on the bed.

"Close your eyes," Carl instructed. Hannah huffed but did as she was told. "Hold out your hands."

Hannah followed his instructions. She felt something big drop in her hands. It was somewhat circular and had buttons on the top.

"Open your eyes," he said. Hannah opened them to see a blue portable CD player sitting on her palms. "Cool, right? I didn't think these things still existed. I guess whoever lived here before kept one for whatever reason."

Hannah was stunned. She didn't know what to say to him. He grabbed a pair of big headphones from the desk, along with a CD.

"I checked the batteries when I found it, it still works," he explained. He passed the headphones over to Hannah and plugged them in. She placed them over her head so they covered her ears like ear muffs. She had a hard time hearing Carl as he continued to talk.

' _I can't hear you,'_ she explained.

Carl sat on the bed next to her and handed her the disc. She put the CD inside and hit play. The first song queued up and the opening chords began to play.

' _His taste in music sucks but…'_ Carl signed stopped upon seeing the look on Hannah's face.

She'd never heard anything like this before. The way the melody fit perfectly with the lyrics. The music moved fast and started off loud. When the lyrics began, the background music toned down yet still remained upbeat. It kept changing, slowing down and speeding up along with the words. It was beautiful. Hannah couldn't keep the tears from rolling down her face. She looked over at Carl.

' _Are you okay?'_ He asked.

' _I…'_ she couldn't even describe how amazing this was. _'I'm perfect. Thank you.'_

No one had ever done anything like this for her. It felt as though she was being transported to another planet. Actually listening to the music, it was something entirely new, but somehow felt familiar. Sort of like going home after a long time away. She wasn't even embarrassed by the fact that she was crying in front of someone. It was magical.

 **A little bit shorter than usual, I'm sorry, I just wanted to get this chapter out. Also, sorry for the delay, I hit some massive writers block. I hope the Carl/Hannah scenes make up for it. If you're wondering the song she's listening to is She Is by The Fray (no real reasoning behind it, I just like The Fray and that happened to be the first song on one of their albums). Anyway, please tell me what you think! I love getting your feedback. I'll try my best to update soon!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Warning: This chapter does contain mentions of suicide and self-harm.**

It's been about three days since Eli and Will joined the group. Eli kept to himself. He didn't talk to anyone outside of Willow, and even that wasn't much. Will tended to spend more time around Hannah or on watch. He could tell by some of the sideways glances he received, this group didn't trust him.

He felt completely alone in this world. The idea of being alone used to terrify him, but now he found it easy. Being alone meant that he didn't have to care anymore. He learnt the hard way that giving a crap about anyone in this world only meant pain.

When Kevin got bit outside of Salem, no one knew how to react. Eli remembered watching the news and seeing the dead ones in the flesh, but they didn't know what to do. Jake was the oldest of the group, and he was only twenty-one. When Kevin died that night, Jake had been the one to put a bullet in his brain. About three weeks after that, the place they were squatting in got overrun, Eli tried not to think about how Jake and Amy screamed as they were torn apart. He remembered Lauren having to drag him away.

The worst came a few weeks after that. They made it to Georgia, about a day's walk from Atlanta only to see there were signs that read 'Stay away. City fallen. God bless'. Atlanta, and most likely his mother, were both gone. He remembered the devastation on Casey's face. He and Lauren cleared a house and they stayed there about a week. Erin cried a lot. Lauren tried to be there for her, they were roommates back at school, but it never helped. Casey didn't talk all that much by that point. Eli tried to get him to open up, but he had no luck.

On the night Erin died, Eli had been asleep but he woke up to the sound of a commotion. He got up and walked to the kitchen where Lauren, Casey, and Erin were standing. He remembered the trembling in Lauren's voice, the silver knife in Erin's hand.

" _Please, Erin you don't want to do this," Lauren had begged._

" _What's the point?" Erin sobbed_. _"Atlanta's gone! Kevin, Amy, Jake, they're all dead and we're gonna be too. We're all gonna die."_

" _Erin, j-just put the knife down," Eli pleaded. Casey gave him a desperate look. "Please, we can't just give up._ You _can't. We need you."_

" _I don't want to be torn apart," she said through her tears._

" _Erin, please-" Lauren tried to speak._

 _It happened so quickly, the knife went up to Erin's throat and she sliced into her own skin. Red blood poured from her neck. She dropped to the ground, the blood pooling around her._

" _NO!" Lauren yelled and made a run for her friend. Eli stayed frozen in place. Casey was leaning up against the wall, trying not to pass out._

" _Oh God," Casey said as he dropped to his knees. Eli went over to his brother and wrapped him tight. That was when Casey broke down. It was like a floodgate. Eli couldn't summon the words to comfort him, to comfort any of them._

Erin turned that night. Eli was the one to put her down. That night the three remaining group memberstalked, well Eli and Lauren talked, about what to do next. If anyone could turn, regardless of being bit, how could they survive? Eli remembered looking at Erin's bloodied body and deciding that he would never do something like that.

Things had been a lot simpler back then. Erin's actions were selfish, that's what he told himself. But now, after losing so much, he got it. There was nothing. He had nothing left. He wasn't living, just breathing, moving. He was no better than one of the dead ones out there.

Eli leaned back in his corner so he was resting on the wall. He'd slept maybe an hour or two the night before. Every time he shut his eyes, he got flashes of everything that's happened to him. He kept seeing the blood spread across Casey's shirt, the gunshot rang in his ears. He couldn't save his brother.

Ever since Casey was born, Eli looked after him. After their dad left when he was nine and Casey was four, their mom started working more. Most nights, it was just Eli and Casey. Usually, he'd make mac and cheese for dinner. By the time Eli got to his teens, he'd mastered the art of making easy, cheap dinners. When he went away to school, his mom took a job with fewer hours in Greenville. Eli remembered being so worried leaving, but he was also excited. It was selfish, but he was almost relieved not to have to take care of anyone but himself.

 _Now you don't have to, you selfish son of a bitch._ Casey was gone now. He'd let his brother die. Casey was his responsibility, and he failed him. He had no one left.

 _What's the point?_ Casey, Lauren, his mom… they were all gone. Maybe Erin had the right idea after all.

A faint laughter pulled him out of his dreary thoughts. He looked up to see Hannah and Carl sitting on the couch joking about something. She resembled Will closely, even in personality. He noticed how often she would look over his way and assess him, as though trying to see if he would do something. Will did the same thing when she first met him and Casey.

When Eli first saw Will, he was intimidated by her. She didn't talk much, not that she did now. The way she carried herself, the strong silent type, honestly, she kind of scared him. She talked to herself a lot, always seemed to be looking at things that weren't there. There were times he considered leaving her behind. Casey always talked him out of it. Now that he knew more about her, however, the less he feared, and the more he understood. He was glad Casey didn't listen to him for once.

Things were different now, Willow had her family back. She had Hannah now. He knew better than anyone that family comes first. Eli knew that if it came down to him or Hannah, Will wouldn't choose him. She cared about him, sure, she looked after him, but blood comes first.

Over the last few days, Eli spent a lot of time observing this group. He knew that Maggie and Beth were Hershel's daughters, that Maggie was with Glenn, that Carol and Lori were best friends. This entire group was connected. They were a family, and Eli wasn't a part of it.

Eli felt a set of eyes on him. He looked away from Hannah and Carl only to be met with a pair of bright blue eyes. Beth was staring at him, curiosity filling her eyes. She didn't look all that much younger than him. Maybe two or three years at the most. She had long blonde hair that was currently pulled up in a ponytail. While she looked tired, much like everyone else did, he saw an innocence in her. He wished he could have that again, but then again, maybe he never did.

She tore her gaze away and went back to patching up some clothes with Carol. Beth seemed kind, she'd tried to talk to him but Eli never responded. So far, only Beth and Hershel actually spoke to him. Hershel, it was mostly to check on his leg, now that the infection was gone, he could walk without wanting to drop to the ground. But he didn't want to talk to anyone. He didn't want to get to know these people. He didn't want to care anymore. There was only one person left that he actually gave some shit about and that was Will.

Most of the day passed in a blur. No one bothered him in his corner. Will came by and made sure he ate something –even if it was just two bites of food –. Then came time for bed. He went to the dining room where he attempted to sleep. Every night he was plagued by nightmares. He relived every awful thing that's happened.

" _I don't wanna die," Kevin sobbed as the fever burnt through him. Then a shot rang out. Jake found the gun off a dead cop._

" _Not like he needs it anymore," he'd said._

 _It didn't help him against all those dead ones. Sure as hell didn't help Amy._

" _HELP!" Amy had begged. Jake was long dead at that point. Eli stopped in his tracks, he could still see her bright red hair amidst the crowd of dead ones._

" _Eli, we need to run!" Lauren pulled him away as they ran out the back door._

" _What's the point?" Erin's voice echoed._

" _I love you," it was an apology more than a declaration._

" _E-Eli."_

 _Gone. They were all gone. He was the last one left. Eli dropped to his knees, suddenly surrounded by a black void of nothingness. He fell to all fours and let out took a deep breath. His heart was pounding, every breath felt like a dozen bricks lay on his chest._

" _It's all your fault." He looked up._

 _His friends stood in a semi circle in front of him. Kevin had a hole in the middle of his forehead and an angry red bite mark on his arm. On his right, Amy and Jake stood. Only half of Amy's face had been torn off, exposing the inside of her cheek. Jake's clothes were covered in blood, his neck ripped out. Across from them stood Erin, the red still pouring from where she slashed her own throat. Lauren stood just off center, maggots crawled out of her empty eye socket._

" _Why did you leave us, Eli?" Amy asked. The sound of her screaming still echoed in his head._

" _You're not here," he said. "You're dead."_

" _Yeah, we are," Kevin agreed. "And it's all 'cause of you."_

" _What makes you so special?" Jake asked, taking a step towards him. "Why did_ you _live and the rest of us got ripped apart?"_

" _I'm sorry," Eli sobbed. "I never wanted… I'm sorry."_

" _You should be!" Lauren now. Eli couldn't even look at her. "I loved you and you let me die!"_

" _I'm sorry."_

" _We should've kept going." The voice came from behind him. Eli turned around to see two people looking at him._

" _Casey?" He saw the blood spreading across his brother's shirt. "Oh god, I'm sorry."_

" _If we'd kept going, you wouldn't've gotten your leg caught on that fence, we wouldn't've met Will, and maybe I'd still be alive," Casey explained. He sounded just as he had before Erin, no stutter._

" _I told you, Eli," the shape of the second person became clearer._

" _Mom?" She stood in front of him, the same hazel eyes both he and Casey shared. Eli had her jaw line and nose._

" _I told you to keep Casey safe."_

" _I tried," he sobbed looking back down at his hands. "I tried to keep him safe."_

" _It should've been you," his mother snapped. Eli looked up at his mother, taken aback by her words. "You should've died, not him."_

Eli woke up in a cold sweat. His heart raced in his chest, his breath was labored. He struggled to catch his breath as the anxiety filled every inch of him.

 _It should've been you._

 _I loved you and you let me die!_

 _E-Eli._

 _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

It felt as though the panic feeling in his heart would consume him. His stomach twisted and turned into knots. He felt nauseous.

" _Name the first three things you see in the room," Will said the first time this happened._

" _What?" Eli had questioned._

" _Just do it."_

" _My bag, your shirt, and that can of beans."_

" _Describe them."_

 _He gave her a strange look before doing it. His nerves seemed to calm down._

The table, an abstract painting on the wall, and his shoes. The table was brown, a long rectangular shape, there were four chairs around it. There was a light dangling above it and a center piece full of plastic fruit and fake flowers.

The painting was directly across from him, even in the night, he could still see that it was an array of bright colours. There were spirals drawn in the paint. It looked like something he finger-painted in kindergarten. He wondered how someone could pay for something like that.

His shoes were like any other pair of shoes. They were the only things he had left from school. Despite losing his clothes along the way, his trusty pair of Nike's always followed. They were tattered now. When he first bought them, they were black and no stains on them. Now, they faded to an almost grey-ish colour. They were stained with mud and now they were starting to fray at the seams.

His anxiety dwindled. He looked over at the wall to see Will sleeping soundly. She shouldn't have to deal with him. All the other shit she lives with; it wasn't fair of him. He didn't belong here, she did. After everything, she deserved to be happy. He knew there would be a time when she might have to choose between him and Hannah. He didn't want her to choose. Instead, he decided to make the choice for her.

When they lived in Pontiac, Casey befriended the girl next door. She was a few years younger than him, but they always seemed to get along. Anyway, after Casey and his mother moved to Greenville, he still kept in touch with her. About a year or so ago, her dad went nuts and left without a trace. Thinking back on it now, maybe Mr. Novak had a point. Eli couldn't do what Erin did, it went against everything he believed in, but he could leave. Out there alone, he could be dead in a matter of days, and honestly, it didn't bother him as much as it should. He had nothing left to fight for, no belonged out there with the dead, he was just like them.

He got up off the ground and found his bag on the ground. It was the right thing to do. He would only bring her down, just like he did everyone else. He cast one final look at Willow before quietly slipping out. _I'm sorry._ Eli wasn't all that great at saying goodbye.

He walked out the front door, letting it quietly shut behind him. There weren't any stars in the sky since the thick layer of clouds filled the sky. It would most likely rain soon. The dead don't fear rain.

"Hey," he heard someone calling out from behind him. He turned to see Beth leaning against the railing. Her blue eyes shined in the darkness. "What're you doin'?"

He could just keep walking, but for some reason, he remained planted on the front porch.

"Where're you goin'?" She asked.

"Nowhere," he lied. Anything to get her away. Beth looked at the bag on his bag and gave him an unbelieving look. Eli sighed dejected. "Can you just… can you tell Will I'm sorry? I can't be here anymore."

"Why?" She asked.

"It's pretty obvious that I don't belong," he explained. "All of you, you're a family, and I'm not a part of it."

"You haven't even tried," she retorted. "My dad's tried to talk to you, I've tried… you shut all of us out."

He narrowed his eyes. Beth had no idea what he'd been through.

"And what about Will, huh? You just gonna leave her behind?"

He shrugged. "Will's got Hannah now, she doesn't need me." Not that she ever really needed him in the first place. He was more of an inconvenience than anything else.

"Please," she begged, "it's not safe out there alone."

That was sort of the whole point. He didn't want to be safe. He just wanted it to be over.

"Look after Will for me," he told her before continuing his trek. It was a valiant effort on Beth's part. She reached forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Don't go," she pleaded. He turned back towards her. "You can't just run, Eli."

"You don't know me," he said. "Why do you even care?"

"Because I know how you feel," she declared. Eli narrowed his eyes. "I lost my mom, my older brother, my boyfriend… I know what losing someone looks like."

"You don't know shit," he snapped. He looked down, her thin wrist came into view. Even in the dark, he saw the gnarly looking red scar on her wrist.

"I had a friend who did that to herself too," he said, "only it was across her throat. Much more effective."

Beth recoiled like he was on fire. It was a shitty thing to say, and he knew that, but he wanted her to think he was a dick, she wouldn't feel guilty about him dying that way.

Her nostrils flared in fury. She took a step closer to him and got right in his face. "Just 'cause you're pissed off at the world doesn't mean you get to be an ass! You don't get to just give up, Eli. It's easier to quit but we can't do that. You still have people that care about you."

"And she doesn't need me anymore," he repeated. "No one needs me."

" _We_ need you, Eli," she said. "This group, we can help each other. You say that you're not a part of this family, that no one trusts but that's not true. _I_ trust you. My dad trusts you. Glenn, Maggie, Carol, T, you've just been too damn wrapped up in your own bullshit to see that people actually give a damn."

They both just looked at each other. There was a tense silence between them. After Lauren, Eli pushed away his grief and kept moving for Casey. Then Casey died and suddenly Eli had no reason to keep going. He'd given up completely, but this person fighting so hard to bring him back, despite the shitty things he said.

When he was a kid, after his dad left and Eli had to take care of his brother. That was his job. He always had to put Casey's happiness above his own. The first time he ever actually did something for himself was going to school. It was Casey who convinced to go to Notre-Dame, originally he was going to go somewhere closer.

" _Do something that makes you happy,"_ he'd said. _"Stop living your life around me."_

He had nothing.

" _I was just about to give up one day,"_ he remembered Will telling him after revealing how lost she'd been. _"I was just gonna quit."_

" _Why didn't you?"_ He had asked.

" _Cause I heard this guy yellin' for help… You 'n Casey, you saved me."_

Will could've just given up but she didn't. When things got hard, she could've left them behind, but she didn't.

 _Stop living your life around me._

Eli dropped his bag on the ground. Then he did something he hadn't in the last few days. He burst out in tears. They were tears of grief for Casey, Lauren, and everyone else he'd lost. They were tears of horror because of how close he got to being like Erin. He was absolutely disgusted with himself.

"I'm s-sorry," he blubbered, the sobs racking his chest. "I'm s-sorry." He felt a set of arms pulling him in tightly. He sat on the now dewy grass and cried into Beth's shirt.

 **A bit shorter but I'm almost done the next chapter so that should be up soon. I felt it was important to have this particular chapter on it's own because of how heavy it is. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Please let me know what you think. I'll have the new one hopefully posted in the next week or so.**


	15. Chapter 15

It was about mid morning when Daryl and Hannah got back from hunting. They left at the crack of dawn, just like they did most mornings. After the haul they'd gotten from the grocery store, they didn't need to hunt for a few days. At least that's what Daryl had told her. Hannah had the sneaking suspicion it had something to do with her aunt showing up. Hannah tried to ignore it, but she knew how Will felt about her dad. She made slight comments about him, and whenever she was around him, it was as if she smelt something awful. Hannah had known how Will felt ever since she was a little girl. One time, Hannah asked her aunt if she knew her dad, Willow laughed and said that if she ever met the man, she'd shoot him. This was after she came back from the war and was always drunk. Her mom made Hannah go to her room after that.

Aunt Will didn't know Daryl the way Hannah did. It took them a while but they were finally becoming a family. Hannah had something she'd always wanted, a dad. He wasn't perfect or anything, and maybe not exactly what she expected but he was hers.

That morning when they'd left, Beth and Eli were sitting on the porch talking. It was surprising since she'd never seen the guy talk to anyone who wasn't Will. They'd stopped the second the door opened and continued when Hannah and Daryl were just out of earshot. However, she looked over her shoulder and could clearly see Eli's lips moving. She didn't get an exact read on what he was saying. It was either: mind over the sky or my brother died.

 _My brother died_. She wondered if that was right. It made sense, they way he shut off from everyone. She did the same thing.

She spent the entire hunt thinking about it. How quick she'd been to judge someone she didn't even know. From the moment she met him, she believed he'd be like Randall.

Hannah was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she missed a rabbit that was practically standing still. Daryl eyed her curiously.

"Hey, what's goin' on with you today?" He asked. "It seems like you're somewhere else."

Hannah hesitated. "When Randall came to the farm, what made you change your mind on killing him?"

"Your mom did," he answered, a small smile on the corners of his mouth. "Why you askin'?"

"Shane didn't trust Randall," she voiced. "Isn't that why he killed him out in the woods? Why mom died?"

Daryl looked down at her. "Shane was crazy. That's all, ain't nothin' more."

"Do you trust Eli?" Hannah suddenly asked.

"Why d'you wanna know?" He retorted.

"I don't know…" she said.

"He ain't done nothin' to prove we can't. That don't mean we shouldn't be cautious," he explained. "C'mon, I got us a trail."

They didn't talk much after. Hannah taught him a few more signs, just as she always did. His vocabulary was pretty big now. Today, she taught him the signs for different family members. He was getting to be pretty good at it. They couldn't really have a full conversation quite yet but he was getting better. They had fragmented conversations where Hannah would teach him more. Her mom would be proud.

 _My brother died._

She wondered how his brother died. How long ago. Was it at the start like Amy? Or maybe sooner like her mom? Or maybe even in the middle like Sophia. She wondered what his brother's name was. How old he was when he died. Any detail really. She didn't understand why she was so interested, maybe it was because she could understand what he was going through.

When they made it back to the house, Eli and Beth weren't on the porch anymore. They replaced by a worried looking Willow.

"Where the hell have you been?" Will snapped. "I've been worried sick."

"We were hunting," Hannah explained showing her the dead squirrels.

" _Huntin'?_ " She asked in disbelief. She glared at Daryl. "You took her _huntin'_ out there alone? The fuck's wrong with you? Even _I_ didn't think you could be that dumb."

Hannah's nostrils flared.

"Y'all coulda been killed out there," she continued. "You took _my_ niece, _my_ family out where she's vulnerable?"

Hannah balled her fists. "I can handle it."

"I didn't say anythin' about the gun or the crossbow," she started. "But goin' out there with no back up, with walkers, 'n dangerous people, that's too far!"

"I'm out there with her," Daryl spoke up. "She's safer with me than she is with anyone else."

Will let out a loud snort. "That's rich comin' from a man that only stepped up after Charlotte died. Was she safer with you?"

"Stop it!" Hannah yelled.

"Hannah, get inside _now_ ," Will ordered.

"No," she replied.

"I wasn't askin'," she snapped. "I need a word with _him_."

She said it like there was a rotten taste in her mouth.

"No," Hannah repeated.

"Hannah Lenore Connor, you're gonna go inside that house now," Willow said forcefully. "I'm not sure I like this new attitude of yours." Hannah felt herself get angrier. If Aunt Will was going to yell at her dad, she'd have to do it in front of Hannah.

"You're not my mom!" She yelled. "You don't get to say or like shit."

"Watch your language," both Will and Daryl said simultaneously.

"No, you don't get to talk a big game about being there because _you never were!_ " She yelled. Willow recoiled, good.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and looked at her dad.

' _It's… okay… go… in.'_ His signing was slow but he was doing great. _'I… got… it.'_

Hannah nodded and stepped past her aunt, glaring.

When Hannah walked inside the house, the group eyed her curiously. They weren't exactly all that quiet out there. She walked over to the table and dropped the dead squirrels on the table that she'd clean later. She made eye contact with Carl, who was sitting across the room from Beth and Eli. Hannah went over and sat next to him. He turned towards her.

' _You okay?'_ He asked.

' _Yeah.'_ She was pissed as hell, but she was okay. Her dad could handle it, and her aunt could come around.

' _What happened?'_ He asked.

' _Aunt W-I-L-L got mad that me and Daryl went hunting,'_ Hannah explained. They weren't yelling so maybe they were actually talking.

' _Why?'_

' _I don't know.'_

Well, she knew that it was most likely do to the fact that her aunt hated her dad. She didn't understand how she could hate him. As far as she knew, Willow had never actually met Daryl. Will judged him based on the fact that he broke up with mom. Now that Hannah understood him better, she forgave him for leaving. Aunt Willow hasn't even given him the chance.

Carl looked past her straight at Beth and Eli behind her. They were talking in hushed tones, Beth smiled at something he said.

 _My brother died._ She had to know for sure. Hannah got up, went to the kitchen and grabbed one of the granola bars they found in a nearby gas station. It was the only food they could find. The box was hidden under the counter behind a box of lottery tickets. Hannah devised a story that a cashier stashed them there for when they days were long and they got hungry.

When she got back to living room, Beth was getting and heading over to help Lori and Carol with the laundry. Carl hadn't moved, he now was reading a book. A few days ago she'd lent him her copy of _The Hunger Games_ and he seemed to be enjoying it. Hannah walked over to Eli.

"Hi," she greeted awkwardly. "Here, thought you might be hungry."

Eli looked oddly at the bar and tentatively took it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said. _Okay Hannah, just ask him._ She stood there wordlessly.

"Um… was there something else?" Eli asked opening up the granola wrapper.

Hannah blurted it out before she could stop herself. "Do you have a brother?"

Eli froze. "H-How did you…?"

"This morning, when my dad and me were going out hunting, I saw you and Beth on the porch," she explained. "I read your lips. You either said: mind over sky or my brother died. The first one didn't make much sense so…"

"Oh," he said.

"What's his name?"

"Casey," Eli told her.

"How old was he?"

"Just turned sixteen."

"I'm sorry he died," she told him. "I know it doesn't mean much, but I am."

"I'm sorry about your mom," he replied. He broke the bar in half and handed it to her. She gave a half-smile before taking a bite out of the granola bar.

She understood him a little bit better now. Eli was someone who was grieving. Casey wasn't that much older than her. She knew that feeling empty feeling in his chest, how the grief seemed like it would never end. Hannah still had days where she really missed her mom, but Beth was right, the pain she felt didn't consume her anymore. Instead, it was simply a part of her.

When Eli got up to go see Will, who had been watching them curiously, Carl took his spot.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I gave him a granola bar," she shrugged.

"I thought you didn't trust him."

"He hasn't done anything to make us not trust him," she repeated her father's words. "I think I trust him."

"What changed your mind?" He asked.

She shrugged again. "I guess I understand him." It was the simplest way she could describe it.

"Just because he hasn't done anything to make us not trust him, doesn't mean we should," he countered. Hannah looked deep into his big blue eyes. His hand was right next to hers. She felt her pinkie on top of his.

"Hey, you trust me, right?" She asked, Carl nodded. "You don't have to trust him, just me."

Hannah gave him a reassuring smile. She knew that it would take Carl some time, but he would get it. Hannah didn't trust easily, but the few people she did, they had to earn it. Back on the farm, Carl betrayed her trust but as time went on, he got it back. The deciding factor for forgiving him had been Sophia's death. There were so few people left in the world, she could learn to forgive. Eli wasn't like Randall; he hadn't tried to hurt anyone in her family. He wasn't like Shane either. He didn't seem like he would stab his friend in the stomach and leave them to die.

She left Carl sitting on the couch. She needed to see her dad. Now that her curiosity about Eli had quelled, she wanted to find out what happened between Daryl and Aunt Willow. Will was in the kitchen helping Lori, Beth, and Carol out. It was a little strange to see since Aunt Will had never been the home-maker type. That was more like her mother and Granny.

She found Daryl sitting outside on watch. It was day and there wasn't a walker in sight. Still, he kept a vigilant eye on the area.

"I'm surprised you're not wearing your blanket," Hannah teased. The past week, the temperature was a little bit on the colder side. Hannah often wore the giant camp hoodie she found months ago.

"You should be inside," Daryl said.

"Two sets of eyes are better, right?" Hannah reasoned.

Daryl and Hannah sat in silence for a few moments. She remembered every awful thing Aunt Will said to him. She wondered what other terrible things she said when Hannah went back inside.

"She shouldn't have said those things," Hannah told him.

"She's just lookin' out for you," Daryl replied.

"She still sees me as a little kid," she argued. "I just don't understand _why_ she said what she did."

"Was a long time comin'. She ain't exactly my biggest fan," Daryl explained. "Not that I blame her."

"Because you left mom?" Hannah questioned. "She left us too. On the farm and before. Mom's friends were more family than she was."

Daryl stayed silent.

"After I went in, did she say anything else?" Hannah pestered.

"Nah," he replied. "You should get back inside. I got this."

Hannah knew he was lying. He could never meet her eye when he did. Still, he was stubborn, just like she was. Hannah figured she wouldn't be able to get the information out of him. She sighed in defeat before heading back inside.

Rick called a group meeting in the afternoon. Hannah thought it was because they might move again. The longest they've stayed somewhere was probably when they lived a week in that clearing near the pit. No, he was talking about a supply run. They'd swept through the town already, but they couldn't just up and move. It seemed to be okay here, and Lori needed a break.

"There's Greenville bout an hour away," T-Dog suggested.

"We picked through there," Hershel countered.

"There's a town on the outskirts of Greenville," Maggie said. Hannah noticed how her aunt and Eli stiffened. They'd picked through almost every town around Greenville. "Haven't picked through there yet. Glenn and me can go."

"No," Aunt Will spoke.

"We've don't it before," Glenn argued. "We're low on supplies."

"Eli and me have been to that town before," she started. "We were taken by a group-"

"But they're all dead now," Eli interrupted. "We saw the camp up in flames."

"We don't know if some made it out," Aunt Will told Eli.

"I take it they ain't friendly," T-Dog deduced.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to meet them," she replied. "They could be dead, some could've gotten out and left the area, or they could've stuck around. We don't know for sure."

"We need the supplies," Rick stated. "Only place we haven't been yet. This place has been the safest we've seen in months."

"I'm not saying we don't go," she snapped. "I'm saying they shouldn't go alone."

"Fine," Rick agreed. "You go with 'em. Take Daryl too."

"What?!" Hannah, Daryl, and Will all said in unison.

"No offence, Rick, but don't you think that might be a bad idea, considering how they got in a fight this morning?" Glenn asked.

"Whatever stuff they've got, they can put it away, right?" Rick eyed Daryl and Will. Reluctantly, they both nodded. "It's final. Decision's been made. Y'all leave first thing in the mornin'." Then he walked away from the group. _This isn't a democracy anymore._

Rick had changed so much since he first stepped out of that cube van. Hannah used to admire him. She used to think he was a superhero, but now she knew better. He wasn't a hero, or someone to be admired, he was just a man. He was keeping them alive. Hannah trusted him. She knew that he was doing what was best for the group, but it didn't mean that on occasion she questioned him. This was one of those instances. Rick knew how Aunt Willow felt about Daryl. He'd heard the argument this morning, everyone had, but he was sending them on a run so they could be back up for Glenn and Maggie just in case. It was dumb, in Hannah's opinion. But this group wasn't a democracy anymore. Whatever Rick says, goes.

* * *

 _The Next Morning:_

Will helped Maggie and Glenn pack up the Hyundai. The asshole, of course, was taking his bike. Thank God she didn't have to spend more time with him than necessary. Of all the people she could've ended up with on this run, it just _had_ to be Daryl Dixon. She honestly questioned her sister's sanity. What could Charlotte have possibly seen in him? The man clearly had sawdust for brains. He must've been amazing in bed. That was the only reasoning Willow had.

 _Okay, stop. You're grossing yourself out._

Just before leaving, Will said goodbye to Eli. He'd asked to come along but both Will and Rick said no. Will knew that if he came, he wouldn't look for supplies, he'd try to track down the people who murdered his brother. Even then, Will wasn't sure if there was anyone out there from Mick's group. Still, the thought of going back there gave her a sick feeling in her stomach. She tossed and turned all night to the faces of the people Mick made her kill. She dreamt about them every night, but last night it seemed amplified by her sense of anxiety.

Hannah gave her a polite goodbye before going over to her dad. She was pissed at her. Daryl managed to steal her niece away too. The fucker. Hannah didn't know most of what happened. She knew bits and pieces, but not everything. She didn't know how Charlotte nearly lost it, how she cried and gave up her dreams, all because of _him_. Still, Charlotte went back to him. Hannah was becoming more and more like him. The thought infuriated her.

"Will, good to go?" Glenn asked breaking her gaze away from Hannah who was still talking to the asshole.

"Yeah," she replied. She turned back to Eli, who stood between Beth and Hershel. "Be safe, okay?"

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" He smirked. Will rolled her eyes but gave him a smile.

Over the past day, she could see he was improving slightly. Earlier, after she'd told him that he couldn't come, he made her promise that if she came across anyone, she'd put a bullet in their chest, just like they did to Casey. He still had a long way to go, but at least he was talking to others in the group.

Will sat in the back seat of the Hyundai. Glenn and Maggie held hands while he drove. Will couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy and longing. It had been so long since anyone held her hand liked that, or looked at her with so much love in their eyes.

" _I miss you too."_ Will looked over, half expecting Oliver to be sitting there, but the seat was empty. The words felt like a whisper in the back of her mind. She could still hear them, but they weren't as clear anymore. The whispers were beginning to fade away.

"So, those people you're not sure about… what exactly are we dealing with?" Glenn asked her.

Will froze, suddenly she was thrown back in the cage with Tim and smashing his skull in on the ground.

"Will?" Maggie's voice pulled her back.

"Trust me, y'all don't wanna know what they did," she replied. She had a flash of Casey coughing up blood.

"If there was a big group there, how do we know there's any supplies left?" Maggie asked.

"Because they stole from the people they found," Will explained.

There wasn't much conversation after that.

Daryl's bike zoomed past them. The damn thing was so loud, she wondered how no walkers got on their trail. Yesterday, she'd finally snapped. Knowing that he took her niece out there made her sick to her stomach. Sure, Hannah had the cochlear and that thing has probably saved her life, but it wasn't enough. When Charlotte brought up the cochlear implant to Willow in a letter, she found out all she could. Regardless of what Hannah might think, Willow loved her niece. The cochlear made it so she could hear, but there were things that would be out of range. Taking her out there, it made Hannah vulnerable. There were only two people in this world Will couldn't bear losing. Hannah was one of them.

Maybe that was why she'd exploded on Daryl. She'd said some pretty awful things to him, and maybe they were a bit too harsh. Then she thought about what he did to Charlotte, leaving her behind like she was nothing, it made her blood boil.

" _You got no right," she'd told him after Hannah went inside, "absolutely no right. Just cause she's your blood, don't make you her family. Charlotte, my mom, and me, we're her family. We've been there since the start."_

" _Ain't like you stuck 'round neither," Daryl snapped. "I'm her father. I've been there-"_

" _Only cause her momma's dead," she interrupted, "you weren't there when she was a kid. You weren't there for her birthday's or when she scrapped her knees. You've never been a part of her life," Will snapped. "You're not her father. You're just a sperm donor."_

 _She didn't let Daryl say anything else before walking back inside the house. Just because he'd learnt some sign and took her out hunting didn't mean he was Hannah's father._

Being a father meant so much more to Willow. Her father was the best man she knew. He was always there when she needed him. He never judged her, never made her feel small. He certainly never left when things got hard. Daryl was nothing like a father should be. Still, she'd need to push her animosity aside for the time. She could hate him all she wanted, it still didn't change the fact that he was there. But she'd be damned if he took put Hannah in any danger.

Will didn't need to look out the window to know they'd made it. It felt like there was ice sliding down her spine. The nausea started forming in the pit of her stomach. It felt like ages since she'd been here, not a week and a half. Her cuts weren't even fully healed yet. She still had a fading black eye.

Glenn parked the car in the town square. During her brief time here, Will hadn't explored the town at all, given that she was locked in the cell underground, and when they were free, they didn't look around much. Will had found a house that hadn't been picked through. They only ran because there were walkers. Surprisingly though, looking around the deserted streets, those walkers seemed to have moved on.

"Will, you've been here before," Glenn spoke, "where should we go first?"

"Check houses. That'd be my best bet," she suggested, "less likely Mick's people got there."

For the next couple of hours, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, and Will checked the nearby houses. There wasn't much, but they still managed to find some food, clothes, and batteries. No one spoke more than a 'clear', or an 'on three'. They were at the last house on the block. After, Maggie suggested they check some of the stores and siphon the abandoned cars for fuel. They were about two hours away –because of all the detours- from the house, they'd need fuel to get back.

The front door was locked. Good sign. Glenn managed to pick the lock. Will opened the door cautiously. Maggie covered her, just incase there were any unfriendly types. Will wordlessly climbed up the stairs to check the top floor. Glenn and Maggie took the main floor while Daryl went through the basement.

She checked first for any walkers. Thankfully, there were none. Then she raided the drawers of the first room. As she searched, she thought back to the night Casey died. Everything had been such a blur. She didn't have the time to note every person that was dead. At the time, there were more important things. Those people were monsters. They deserved what they got, just like the walkers. She hoped Mick was rotting in the fiery depths of Hell next to Shane. It took about two days for Will to ask Carol how Charlotte died. Shane killed her. She could barely remember his face, but she did remember that chilling feeling she got around him. She should've known. Just as she should've found a way to save Casey.

Will rummaged through the last room on the left. It was a personal office. Papers were still spread across the desk, unmoved, as though it was a moment frozen in time. She checked she drawers, grinning when she found three packs of batteries. The books in the large library were mostly about law, but she did find a few classics on one of the shelves. Willow had never been much of a reader, save _The Sound and The Fury_ when she was younger. Although, that was mostly because her father used to read it to her. Hannah, however, was an avid reader. Maybe these could bridge a peace treaty. She stuffed them in her bag.

A loud bang echoed from downstairs. Willow jumped and reached for her machete, only to remember that she'd lost it when they were taken by Mick. Now, much to her dismay, she carried around a rifle and the hunting knife she'd found while she and Eli were alone. She cautiously stepped out of the room and walked down the stairs.

Glenn and Maggie were no where in sight.

"Glenn? Maggie?" She called out. It was pretty stupid to speak, but Will didn't think. While she didn't know Maggie and Glenn well, it didn't mean she didn't care about them. They had a family to get back to. She wouldn't lose anyone else on her watch.

"Over here," Glenn's voice echoed through the house. It didn't sound quite right. His voice was shaking.

When Will rounded the corner and stepped into the large dining room space, she froze.

"Holy shit guys," Nick's familiar voice reached her ears. He had that same cocky smirk he'd had that day on the road. "looks like we caught ourselves a viper."

 _Fuck._

 _FUCK._

She'd thought that something like this might happen, but deep down she hoped it was her paranoia getting the best of her. Boy, was she ever wrong. There were about five of them, and she recognized them all. Lou, one of the guards from the work yard, stood towards the side. There were two women, one of which she recognized from that first day in the throne room. She stood at Mick's side, pale scars running down her cheeks. The last man was another guard, but not just any guard. He's the one who went to shoot Eli that first day. The guy Willow threatened to snap his neck. Lou and the scar-face woman had guns trailed on Glenn and Maggie, who were kneeling on the ground.

"Nick, let them go," she said. Will put her rifle down on the ground and raised her hands up in surrender. "This ain't about them. They done nothin' wrong."

"They're with you," Lou snarled. "That's reason enough." He pressed the barrel of his hand gun to Maggie's head. "That bitch tell you what she did? 'Bout how she beat six people to death, usin' nothin' but her bare hands?" The younger woman had frightened tears running down her face. Glenn looked as though he was about to jump and attack. Will shot him a small warning look.

"Where's the other one?" Nick asked. "The kid with the bum leg… Eli, wasn't it?"

"Dead," she said without hesitation. "Walkers got him."

"Damn, I was hopin' to kill him nice and slow," he sighed. "Guess we'll just take it out on your friends."

"They ain't my friends," Will lied. "Met the two o' 'em on the road coupla days ago. They mean nothin' to me, we're just survivin'."

Nick walked towards her, a cold look in his eye. Will stood tall, not showing just how fucking terrified she really was.

"Let 'em go," Will repeated taking a step closer to them.

"For someone who claims not to care about 'em, you sure are makin' a fuss 'bout killin' 'em," the scarred woman noted.

"Kill 'em, don't kill 'em," she shrugged, "I don't care."

"Damn," Lou chimed in. He moved his gun away from Maggie's head and pointed it towards her. "knew you were cold. Didn't know you were stupid too. Get on your knees."

Will raised her hands in surrender and slowly turned to face the entrance before lowering to her knees. She needed to think of a better way out of this. If there was a way.

"Check her," Nick ordered. The other woman came over.

"You try anythin', I'll shoot you just like Mick did the kid," she snarled. "What was his name again?"

Will felt the rage brew in the pit of her stomach. She knew the woman was egging her on, but all Will wanted to do was drive a knife in the bitch's skull. The only thing that stopped her was the pistol pointed at Glenn. Instead, she glared at the woman.

"Now then," Nick spoke up almost theatrically, "who wants to do the honors of shootin' the bitch that destroyed our home?"

She could see the hungry smiles on their lips. Every single one of them wanted to put a bullet in her head.

 _Shit._

"Bet she didn't tell you 'bout that either," Nick looked to Glenn and Maggie. "See, we took her and the two boys in, gave 'em food, shelter, safety…" she tried not to scoff. "All we asked is that they work, that ain't too bad, right?"

Glenn and Maggie said nothing. He turned so his back was now to the front entrance of the room.

"Well, 'parently wasn't 'nough for them. One night, they killed our friends. Left 'em to turn. Then shot up our camp, left us to rot while our family was murdered," he twisted the story. "Y'see, that's the type of bitch she is."

At this, Willow couldn't keep it in anymore. She started laughing. If she was going to die, she may as well stir as much shit as she possibly could.

"The type o' bitch I am? That the worst you can do?" She asked. "I mean, seriously, I know words big words are hard, but surely in that pea sized brain you got a better insult than callin' me a bitch over and over again. Don't y'all know words loose meanin' when they're constantly bein' repeated."

"Shut up," he snarled pointing his gun at towards her. The rest of his group abandoned Maggie and Glenn's side in order to stand in a line, as though to block her way out.

"Tryin' to get a better view of the show?" She asked them. "I'm honored, really."

Through the holes between the people, she saw something move. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was Daryl. He put one finger over his lips, telling her not to give him away. She hated having to work with him, but they had no choice. Instead, Will did what she could, she distracted them.

"I mean, here I thought I got o' all you fuckers when your old camp went up in flames," she told them nonchalantly. "How'd that happen anyway? Someone leave a candle burnin'?"

"'nough of this," Nick growled. She was rattling them up, good.

Daryl moved behind them swiftly. She noticed how he'd picked up her surrendered rifle on the ground.

"You know what, I don't care," she said. Will's eyes darted to the scarred woman and noticed her machete. "You know, stealin's frowned upon. I'll be takin' my knife back now."

She looked back at Maggie and Glenn. "Duck," she told them.

The shots rang in her ears. Will dropped to the ground as the bullets flew through the air. She yelped loudly as someone grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up. Instinct kicked in as she smashed the back of her head into her attackers face. She dropped to the ground in a heap and looked up to see the man she'd almost killed that first day grab his bloodied nose. He had a bullet wound in his shoulder. The man took out a smaller pistol from the waistband of his pants and point it at her.

Shit.

The familiar click, meaning that it was now loaded, echoed. Will closed her eyes, knowing that she would probably be dead in the next two seconds. A loud shot rang out. For a moment she thought that this was it, that she was dead, until she opened her eyes to see the man drop to the ground, a red circle in the center of his forehead and Daryl standing behind him slowly lowering his rifle. Daryl Dixon had saved her life. _Well, I'll be damned._

Will gave him a curt nod and she picked herself up off the ground. Bullet casings and carnage surrounded her. For a split second she was back in Iraq. She shook away the horrible memories.

"Glenn, Maggie, you good?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah," Glenn responded. They'd hidden behind a table that was laying on its side, providing a perfect shield.

"Will?" Maggie asked, her voice still trembling slightly. Will walked over to the body of the scarred woman. She picked up her machete, the familiar weight making her smile slightly.

"Yeah, I'm good," she assured.

There was a cough from the ground. Will walked over towards the noise to see Nick's eyes wide open, choking on his own blood. The bullet had gone into his chest. It missed his heart and punctured a lung. It was almost poetic justice for what they did to Casey.

"I got 'im," Daryl said coming up behind her.

"Don't," she replied. She knelt down and brought her lips very close to his ear. Nick's eyes widened in fear. "You feel that, Nick? The blood filling your lungs? The struggle to breath? The taste of your own blood? This is what you deserve. I want you to take in every bit of it, everythin' you put Casey through."

He coughed, more blood dribbled from his lips.

"Willow, stop," Glenn begged. "Just end it."

After what he and his people did, he deserved to suffer. Will lifted her head so she filled his vision. She wanted her face to the last face he saw. She wanted him to feel every ounce of pain Casey felt. He coughed and sputtered again.

"Will, please," Maggie pleaded now.

Will grabbed the knife from Nick's waistband and stabbed it in his skull. She was cold, numb inside. She stood up and looked at the carnage surrounding them. She'd won.

"C'mon, we gotta move. All those shots'll draw out every walker for miles," she told them, her voice void of emotion.

"What about them?" Glenn asked referring to the mass of dead bodies.

"Leave 'em," she answered. "They don't deserve your pity."

They certainly didn't pity her when they made her beat another living person to death, or made her dig their graves, or when they shot Casey. She was glad they were dead. They got what was coming.

The walk back to the car was silent. It was getting late. Will could see the sun was maybe about an hour from setting. Daryl suggested they find a place to hold up for the night, since they were so far away from the group. Will didn't like the idea, but she knew it was safer. She noticed how Maggie and Glenn kept throwing nervous glances her way. Daryl did too, though his were more worried.

Wordlessly, Will got into the backseat of the Hyundai. Glenn and Maggie went up front. There was no talking on this car ride. They didn't know her all that well, only that she was Charlotte's sister. If anything, this incident reminded them just how different she and her sister really were.

The silence was agonizing. That switch Willow had between being a less-than-human thing and being her normal, slightly insane self was flipped back on, meaning she felt everything. She hadn't realized it had turned off. Is that who she was now? One second fine, the next the same person who beat people to death?

They were about halfway back to the group when they decided to pull over. They found a small, empty convenience store. Will helped the others clear it. Glenn and Maggie still hadn't said a word to her. They set up the small camp in one of the aisles. Daryl was on watch, leaving her with Glenn and Maggie.

"They woulda killed you to get to me," she told them, shattering the silence. "That's why I told them y'all meant nothin'. Charlotte cared 'bout y'all. Hannah does to. I wasn't gonna let anythin' happen to you."

"We get it," Maggie spoke. The younger woman gave her a small smile. "You were tryin' to save us."

"We're good," Glenn assured.

Will gave a curt nod. "I got second watch. We can leave at dawn."

Maggie and Glenn fell asleep in each others arms. Will was sitting in the aisle not to far away. She thought back to that house, to Daryl saving her life in there twice. She'd been a major asshole to him, but he still saved her. A part of her was beginning to think that maybe she'd been wrong about him. The way he was with Hannah, how he'd signed. Seeing how close Daryl and Hannah had gotten, it made something inside of her snap.

She spent thirteen years hating this man that she'd never known for breaking her sister's heart. Perhaps she was wrong. There was no way Daryl was going anywhere, and neither was Will. Whether she liked it or not they were stuck with each other. Willow remembered being about twelve years old when her best friend wanted to see a movie while Will wanted to go biking. Her father told them to compromise, find the best way to please both of them. They ended up biking to go and get a movie from the video store. She'd need to do that again, push away her negative feelings towards Daryl Dixon and work with him. Will got up off the ground and walked over to the front of the store.

If living in this world has taught her anything, it's that there's no time for bullshit. Unfortunately, it had taken her until this point to realize it. Her mother always did say she got her stubbornness from her dad, though Will secretly knew that all the Connor women shared this trait. Daryl heard her coming up behind him. He looked back at her.

"Hey," she greeted. "Quiet out there?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Is it your watch now?"

"No. I –uh- just wanted to thank you for, you know, savin' my life," she said awkwardly. _C'mon Will, quit bein' a coward._ "'N to apologize for what I said the other day. What I said, it was shitty and I'm sorry."

"Ain't the first time I been yelled at by a Connor, sure as hell won't be the last," he said.

"I was wrong 'bout you," Will told him. "'N I don't say that often. I was just pissed at you leavin' Charlotte alone with Hannah."

"If I'd'a known 'bout Hannah, I'd'a stayed," he told her.

"She loved you," Will told him. "Charlotte, I mean, even after you left. God, I kept wonderin' what she saw in you. I didn't get it, but I think I do now. How you are with Hannah, 'n how she looks up to you, I was jealous. She used to look at me that way too."

"She loves you," Daryl assured.

She paused for a second. "I let her down too many times."

"You ain't the only one," Daryl said. "Last few months ain't been easy."

"I can imagine," she told him. "When I saw you that day in the supermarket… I thought for a second Charlotte was alive. To find out she was dead… I just wanted to break down."

"Why didn't you?" Daryl asked.

"Wasn't always just me 'n Eli," she started. "Had his brother too, Casey. He was only sixteen years old when those bastards back at the house shot him. W-We tried to run, came so damn close to gettin' away… I heard a shot and looked back to see Casey on the ground."

"How long?" Daryl asked.

"Two weeks now," she said.

"Sorry."

"Me too. He was a good kid," she told him. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat. She remembered Casey's bright smile, and his bloodied shirt as he leaned on the tree. Will shook the memories away.

Willow reached into her pocket and pulled out her pack of smokes. She put one up to her lips and lit it, letting the nicotine fill her lungs. She looked back at Daryl who was eyeing her curiously.

"What?" She asked.

"Never thought I'd see a Connor smoke," he stated. "Usually with Hannah or Charlie it's all 'Those things'll kill you'."

Will let out a light laugh. "You think they're bad, you shoulda heard my momma. Damn near threw me out when she found the pack in my pants."

They had to work together now. She held out the pack to him and Daryl grabbed a cigarette. It wasn't much, just a small gesture of peace.

 **And there you have it! I'm so excited because starting next chapter we will be moving into the plot of Season 3 and I have so many ideas for it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know if you did.**


	16. Chapter 16

_Two Months Later:_

They moved like a perfect unit. Rick broke down the front door and shot the first walker. Aunt Will followed closely and sliced her machete in the skull of the next walker. T-Dog took out a third walker with his fire poker. Hannah trailed after her father as they moved in sync to check through the large white house. On the outside, it sort of reminded Hannah of Hershel's farmhouse.

 _Don't think about it._

She kept her bow raised, just like she did every time they cleared a house. Daryl gave her the nod and she broke away from him to check the rooms. For the past few weeks it had been very slim pickings. They hadn't had very much food since Glenn, Maggie, Aunt Will, and her dad went to the town outside of Greenville. Hannah still didn't know what happened, but her dad and Will seemed to have made up.

She found Carl in the kitchen checking the cupboards. She cleared her throat to get his attention. He turned to look at her.

' _Any luck?'_ They weren't allowed to talk while clearing houses. Not since they just barely kept in front of one of the herds.

' _Not really. Everything is gone.'_

Hannah huffed in frustration. Her stomach growled, they hadn't had any food in days. Whatever small amount they could find, Lori always got it because of the baby.

Carl opened another cupboard and found a can of dog food. He gave her a massive grin. Despite it not being people food, Hannah salivated. Yes, she was that hungry. The two children darted to the living room where her family sat, all looking more beaten and weathered than they had in months. They were used to things being bad, but it seemed over the last two months, the herds all seemed to be merging together. They never stayed in a place more than a night and had seemed to lap Georgia. Now they were back pretty much where they started, in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of Meriweather.

Carl grabbed a can opener for the bag and began opening the dog food. Hannah felt somewhat disgusted with how much she salivated over it. The group all had the same look in their eyes, disgust but hunger. T-Dog watched vigilantly out the window, her dad was plucking the feathers off a dead owl. Hannah looked away, suddenly reminded of Hedwig. It was childish to love characters in books to the point where seeing any resemblance in real life made her sad, but she didn't care. She was allowed to have one childish thing in her life, right?

Rick walked around the group, that same commanding presence he's had since they left the farm. He's gotten them this far, she supposed he had to be a little bossy. He saw the can of dog food Carl had opened. Rick reached down and grabbed it, giving it a once over before tossing it into the empty fireplace. Hannah jumped slightly at the loud clang that came when it connected with the wall. She huffed, slightly annoyed because of how hungry she was. She would've eaten every last bit of that dog food. Her dad ate squirrels raw sometimes. Dog food was nothing compared to that.

T-Dog whistled quietly and pointed outside. Rick urged them all out, and suddenly they were running once again. The herd had caught up to them. Her dad hopped on his motorcycle, still wearing that stupid blanket. Aunt Will, Beth, Eli got into the truck. Hannah, Carl, Maggie, Rick, and Glenn piled into the Hyundai. Hershel, T-Dog, Lori, and Carol took the Cherokee. This had to be the least amount of time spent in one place.

Hannah and Carl took point on watch. Beth took the side. The remainder of the group crowded around a map, trying to figure out what to do next. She had her bow ready just in case.

"I'm so hungry I could eat _two_ cans of dog food," Hannah told him.

"I could eat three," Carl retorted. "Wish he hadn't thrown it."

"Yeah, well, we'll just have to find more and hide it," she replied. "We'll sit on watch and eat all of it. We'll be full."

"We'll go to the Grand Canyon," he continued.

"With nothing but dog food," she grinned.

It wasn't a mystery that lately even Carl was getting frustrated with his father. Hannah had all the respect in the world for Rick, but lately it seemed as though he was twice as commanding, or maybe it was just because Hannah was starting to notice it more. The last few months she had more things to worry about than Rick being bossy. After she and Carl got stuck in the pit when it seemed to gain momentum, and then after with Will, Glenn, Daryl, and Maggie. It probably didn't help that Lori looked as though she would pop any day now.

Will came over and got them. She explained that they were heading West in hopes to find a safe place. Rick and Daryl were going hunting quickly. Hannah didn't let it bother her since the rest of the group needed her help with getting water.

After the run two months ago, Aunt Willow was actually okay with Hannah going out hunting. The compromise was that they wouldn't go for too long, a few hours at the most, and Hannah always had to have her gun on her as well as her bow. It was a compromise Hannah could easily agree with. She found herself doing other things now too, helping to cook, do laundry, and other little jobs. She and Carl were doing more watches now too. They had at least one a day, always the two of them.

She noticed Carl eyeing Beth and Eli, who were grabbing empty jugs to fill with water. Hannah scoffed at her best friend's jealousy. Over the last two months, Eli had opened up a lot more. He still had moments where he would drift away, but there was always someone there to help bring him back. They were family. Hannah had noticed that he got particularly close to Beth, much to Carl's dismay. Though, the way Hannah saw them interact, they were just friends. Just like she is with Carl.

"Hey," she tried to get Carl's attention. He just kept looking over at them.

"What does he have that I don't?" Carl asked.

"More than one chest hair?" Hannah suggested teasingly. Carl rolled his eyes. "They're just friends, Carl."

Carl grumbled something Hannah couldn't hear while looking at his feet. She sighed, dejected.

"C'mon, let's go help," Hannah suggested to Carl.

Carl didn't say anything as they walked with the rest of the group. Hannah huffed in frustration. What was she going to do with him?

After filling the jugs of water, the entire group walked back to the cars. They didn't want a repeat of what happened last time when Hannah and Carl wanted to go back early. That didn't turn out so great. When they got back, Rick and her father were waiting for them. They'd found something, a prison.

The group followed without any question. Hannah walked between her dad and Aunt Will. It was strange how much the dynamic between them had changed. They weren't just being nice to each other for the sake of being nice to each other, it seemed like they were actually becoming friends. Hannah was incredibly thankful for that.

Rick cut through the chain fence, they made sure to keep quiet since there were walkers on the outside of the fence as well as in the field. Hannah had never been to a prison before. There were high guard towers looming over an open field. Fences with barbed wire on the top surrounded it. There were two layers of fences as well. She, along with the rest of the group, were now running down the path between the two fences. Hannah figured it was for the guards.

Rick stopped them. Hannah could practically see the gears turning in his mind.

"We need to close that gate," he said pointing across the walkers filled field. "Pick 'em off, we can take this field by tonight."

"And how exactly d'you plan on doin' that?" Aunt Will asked while looking at how far the gate was.

"I'll do it," Glenn volunteered. "You guys cover me."

Hannah looked over at field. Her heart squeezed at the thought of him going out there.

"No you can't, suicide run," Maggie told him. Yes, listen to Maggie, she's smart.

"But I'm the fastest," he countered.

"Nah, Glenn, I'll do it," Aunt Will volunteered. _No!_

"No," Rick and Eli said simultaneously.

"Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Eli, and T, head to the fence, draw the walkers over, pop 'em through the fence. Daryl, head back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time we don't have a lot of ammo to spare. Take Hannah too. Will, you, Carl, and Hershel take the other tower," Rick ordered.

Hannah followed her father and Carol up to the tower. She peered down at the walker field. Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Eli, and T-Dog were banging on the fence. The walkers started gathering towards them. Hannah had her bow poised ready to shoot. She saw Rick starting to run in the field. Hannah noticed a walker coming behind Rick. She pulled the trigger and released the bolt that sunk itself deep in its skull. She reloaded and took out another one deeper in the field. This kept going until Rick slammed the gate shut and made it to the other guard tower.

"Light it up!" Her father yelled. Hannah reluctantly put her bow on the ground and took out her gun. She, and the rest of her group, shot and killed all the walkers in the field. When the last walker dropped to the ground, Hannah felt a sense of relief. They'd done it.

Hannah grabbed her bag and met the group by the gate, a huge satisfied smile on her face. She grabbed her pack and followed her family inside. Carl walked beside her and she gave him an excited smile. A fence, a field, this had to be the safest place they'd been in months.

T-Dog lifted his arms and cheered loudly. Hannah took a deep breath, the air somehow feeling a little safer than she had in months.

* * *

When they'd cleared away some of the bodies, and moved the cars closer to the front gate, they built a small fire to roast the few squirrels Daryl had caught. They were a rather large group, which meant that food was scarce between everyone. Will walked over to the turned over bus, a bowl of food for Daryl in hand. Hannah had asked her to bring it, since Will didn't want her straying away from the group.

"Hey, mind giving me a hand?" Will asked. Daryl bent down and pulled her up. She handed him the bowl of food. "Hannah asked me to bring. She seems to think that unless someone force feeds you, you won't eat."

"She get some?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, wasn't much," she answered.

"Guess baby Shane's got an appetite," he grumbled. Will snorted.

Two months ago, Will never would've come over and willingly started talking to Daryl. But ever since that night on the run, things had changed between them. They were no longer hostile towards the other –well, Will towards Daryl. They'd actually become friends. Guess the end of the world isn't a time to hold a thirteen year old grudge. He wasn't all that bad now that she was actually getting to know him. They argued about things, but never as bad as before.

Staying with the group had been the right choice. Eli was back to being that bright young man she'd met all those weeks ago. Hershel took him under his wing after Eli mentioned what he'd gone to school for. They'd become a strange family. Will found herself opening back up to people, caring about them. It terrified her most times, since she knew how easily things could fall apart, and how much it hurt when they did. Still, she hadn't heard voices in her head for two months. That was something.

The stars shined brightly in the sky. Being behind the fences, Will like for the first time in months, she could finally breath. She knew she should hold off until they were actually in the prison walls, if it actually was someplace they could be safe, but for right now they were as safe as could be.

"Think this place'll hold?" Will asked. She pulled out her half empty pack of cigarettes from her pocket and took one, then she offered it to Daryl. It became a silent agreement that when one had a smoke, they'd always offer one to the other. She lit the end and inhaled.

"Won't know til we go in," Daryl retorted while lighting the cigarette.

"Guessin' Rick's gonna wanna do that soon. Might be better too." She took another puff of the smoke. "It's warm durin' the day, but at night… last night I borrowed Eli's extra pair of socks. Fuckin' freezin'."

"Pussy." He said it in a joking tone.

"Comin' from the guy wearin' a poncho," she countered. Reluctantly, she put out the half finished cigarette. Hannah hated it when they smoked. "C'mon, we outta get back. T's got next watch."

Daryl climbed down first and held out his hand for Will to follow. She hopped down and they made their way back to the group. They all huddled around the fire, save Rick who was patrolling the fences. If there was a breach, Will was sure he would've found it by now.

The group was crowded around the fire. The smiles on their faces, Will felt like it was more of a family camping outing than a group of people taking refuge in the apocalypse.

"What about _Partin' Glass_?" Hershel asked.

"No one wants to hear," Beth answered.

"I do," Eli countered. He was sitting next to the younger blonde girl, a smile plastered on his lips. Will grinned looking at them. She was glad Eli found someone around his age. She wasn't sure how that started, but ever since they started talking, Eli was doing better.

"Okay," Beth agreed.

" _Oh all the money that e'er I spent I've spent it in good company_

 _And all the harm that e'er I've done_

 _Alas it was to none but me_

 _And all I've done for want of wit_

 _To memory now I can't recall_

 _So fill to me the parting glass_

 _Good night and joy be with you all."_

Beth had a beautiful voice. Will smiled at the song. Her mom used to sing it when she was a little girl. Charlotte loved it too. Will's eyes drifted towards her niece who watched Beth with a wide smile on her face. Will had a distinct memory of Charlotte rocking Hannah to sleep when she was a baby singing her to sleep.

Maggie joined in after a beat.

" _Oh all the comrades that e'er I've had_

 _are sorry for my going away_

 _And all the sweethearts that e'er I've had_

 _would wish me one more day to stay_

 _But since it falls unto my lot_

 _That I should rise and you should not_

 _I'll gently rise and I'll softly call_

 _Good night and joy be with you all_

 _Good night and joy be with you all_ _."_

"Beautiful," Hershel complimented.

She wiped the few stray tears that had fallen from her eyes.

"Everyone should get some rest. I'll take watch over there. Gotta a big day tomorrow," Rick said.

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.

"This was a great win, 'n I know we're all exhausted, but we need to push a little bit further," he explained. Will knew this would happen and she agreed. They needed to make sure the place was safe enough to live there.

"By the looks of the walkers in there, they're all wearin' prisoner or guard uniforms. If this place fell early, then it could be a damn gold mine. Cafeteria, commissary, infirmary…"

"Armory?" Daryl asked.

"That'd be off the property but not far. Warden's office would have the details on that," he explained.

"We're low on ammo. We'd run b'fore even makin' a dent," Hershel reasoned. Rick seemed to ponder over it for a moment. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Mostly because she'd been thinking the same thing.

"We go in hand to hand then," Will spoke up. "Take a small group, quieter, more efficient."

Rick nodded in agreement.

"We've been through a lot the last few months. We're strong, we can do this. I know we can," Rick assured.

Somehow, Rick always had a way of making her believe him.

 _The Next Morning_

Will kept her trustee machete close by as she and Maggie took the rear of the group. Glenn and T-Dog took the sides while Daryl and Rick led. The rest of the group remained safely behind the fence. They beckoned the walkers over to them in order to kill them through the fence.

A walker in a prisoner's uniform came towards her. Will swung her machete down and cracked through the soft, decomposing skull. A gush of blood sprayed across her dark purple shirt. The hot sun beat down on her tired muscles as she slashed through more of the dead. T-Dog broke away from the group, much to Rick's yelling and grabbed a riot shield off of a dead guard.

The closer they got to the open gate of the courtyard, the more walkers they faced. One particularly grotesque looking one came out of the open guard tower. It wore thick riot gear, making it difficult for them to find an opening. Its slimmed hand reached and grabbed for her arm. Willow clumsily ducked away and fell to the ground, the riot gear walker on top.

 _Shit!_ She cursed as its teeth snapped hungrily at her. She scrambled, reaching for her machete. She saw the opening she needed and used what little energy she had to flip the decomposing mass off of her. She lifted the visor and stabbed the walker in the skull. It crumbled beneath the blade.

"Will!" She heard Maggie yell. Willow turned and saw another walker clamoring towards her, but it dropped to the ground before it could get to her as Daryl stabbed it in the back of his skull.

"You good?" He asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. She had a few scrapes on her elbows, but no scratches. The courtyard was now full of dead bodies.

Will and Daryl met up with the others. Glenn looked as though he was about to go open the gate but Rick stopped him.

"Looks secure," Glenn said.

"Not by the looks of that courtyard over there," Daryl pointed to the now chained door. "N that's a civilian." He pointed to the female corpse.

"If the interior's full of walkers, what do we do? Not like we can rebuild," Will pointed out.

"We can't risk a blind spot," Rick explained. "We gotta keep pushin' in."

There wasn't time to explain to the others. Will trailed closely behind Maggie into the cell block. She, Glenn, and Maggie searched the bottom cells. Will took down one walker in a cell and dragged the body out.

"All clear?" Rick asked from upstairs.

"Yeah," Will responded.

She was helping Daryl drag out the bodies when the others came back inside. There was such a satisfying feeling, knowing that for the first time in a very long time, she'd sleep in a bed. Will claimed a cell on the top level, while it was still close to everyone, she wanted the distance. She loved these people dearly, but sometimes she needed a moment alone.

* * *

Hannah dropped her things in her new cell and grinned. This was the closest she'd had to a room since all of this started. She'd taken the cell next to Beth's. She laid her sleeping bag down and her pillow. Surprisingly, the bed was comfortable. Honestly, at this point, she didn't care about the blood smeared on the tiles. She just put her pillow on the other side. They'd stayed in plenty of gross places before, the worst being the storage units a few months ago.

When Hannah settled in, she walked over to Beth's cell next door because she knew Carl was there too.

"It's actually kind of comfortable," Beth said in surprise. Hannah watched as Carl curiously felt the mattress. Hershel came up behind her and cleared his throat.

"Did you have trouble findin' a cell?" He asked. Hannah smirked as Carl's face turned beat red.

"I-uh… I was just making sure Beth was okay," he tried to sound nonchalant.

"Mmhmm," Hershel replied. Carl walked out of the cell, Hannah trailed behind him. They walked to Carl's cell, which was three down from hers.

' _That was sad to watch.'_ She told him when they finally had a moment alone.

' _Shut up.'_ He signed back jokingly. He knew that she said it teasingly.

' _Oh Beth won't you share your cell with me?'_ She mocked. Carl blushed slightly.

' _Did you see that she smiled at me?'_ He asked. Hannah wasn't sure whether she should agree with him or not. She wasn't exactly sure if Beth liked Carl that way. She didn't know why she wouldn't, Carl was a great guy. He was sweet, kind, and funny. He was her best friend. Anyone would be lucky to be with him.

' _Next thing you know, you'll be married.'_

Her dad came by a few minutes later to tell her to go to bed. Daryl wasn't sleeping in a cell. Instead he was sleeping on the perch. She wasn't surprised when he told her that. Though she hasn't known her father all that long, she knew he didn't do well with being cooped up.

Hannah took out her implants and drifted off to sleep. For the first time in months, she actually relaxed.

 **I am so sorry for the long wait! I hit a major block with this story and started writing other stories and next thing I knew it had been three months since I updated. I do hope you liked this chapter. There is a two month gap between Chapter 15 and this one, meaning that there was quite a bit of development in some relationships (namely Daryl and Will). I will probably be throwing in some flashbacks to those two months but I found that it wasn't really relevant to include them.**

 **Anyway, please review. I would love to hear from you!**


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Willow woke up and started helping gather what small amount of supplies they found the day before. Carl and Hannah were helping sort. They removed the riot gear from the rotting corpses. She cringed at the goopy flesh still inside.

"Ain't no way I'm wearin' this shit," Daryl voiced. Will couldn't help but agree. This shit was fucking disgusting.

"We could boil 'em," T-Dog suggested. Willow wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ain't enough wood in the whole fuckin' forest." She gave Daryl a disapproving look. He looked back questioning. Will's eyes darted to her niece and Carl. He rolled his eyes. "We've made it this far without 'em."

As much as the armor disgusted her, Will figured that having it could keep them safer. Since Hannah still insisted on going hunting. If she wore the riot gear, maybe Will would feel better about the whole thing. If Eli wore it, maybe she'd be able to sleep better. She wouldn't wear it, but she'd feel better if they were protected.

They were starting to plan the day when Carol came by asking for Hershel. She saw the concerned look in Rick's face. Will knew it had something to do with Lori. Most of the strain on them was because Rick and Lori's relationship has gone downhill. Willow didn't have to be with the group long to know that. Maggie had given her a very brief version of what happened: Shane slept with Lori. Lori got pregnant with his baby. Shane went nuts, killed Charlotte, then tried to kill Rick. Rick killed him –thankfully otherwise, if he would've still been around, Will would've cut his heart out without a moment of hesitation. Lori got angry when she found out. Now she was trying to make it up to Rick, only failing miserably at it.

Who needed TV when there was enough drama in this group to fill a telenovela?

Will noticed how Hannah and Carl seemed to think they were coming along. Rick went over to them and told them they were staying behind. Carl huffed before going back to the cellblock. Bumping Eli on his way out. Hannah rolled her eyes and went after him. Out of the two of them, Willow guessed Hannah was the more rational one.

"What's his issue?" Eli asked when he got closer.

"Rick told them they weren't comin' along with us," Will explained.

"Makes sense, they're just kids," Eli shrugged.

She gave him a pointed look. "You're not comin' either."

"What? Why? You're taking Hershel and not me?" He demanded. Willow didn't want to tell him that the reason she told Rick they weren't bringing Eli along was because she couldn't put him in any kind of risk.

"If somethin' happens, and we don't make it back, then you need to step up. You've gotta look after them," she answered. He wanted to object, but must've thought better of it since he simply nodded.

"I'll watch out for them," he said after a beat.

"Good," she replied. "Stay outta trouble, okay?"

"Now where would be the fun in that?" He asked jokingly. Will gave him an annoyed look. "Kidding, kidding. We'll keep busy. Stay safe, okay?"

"Promise," she replied. "Gotta go."

Maggie, T-Dog, Daryl, Glenn, Rick, Hershel, and Willow set off to venture deeper into the prison. For once, Will was at the front. She covered Glenn as he spray-painted arrows so they would be able to find their way back. She had her flashlight in one hand, her machete in the other.

The halls reeked of death, a smell Will was actually getting used to. The cell doors were wide open. Corpses littered the ground. Willow cautiously stepped around them, just in case one of them wasn't actually dead. Beads of sweat rolled down her back. The air felt thick, humid. She heard a small squeak come from behind her. Willow turned to see Maggie jumping as she accidentally bumped into Glenn. They fell behind to the back of the group as they rounded corner after corner.

Something didn't feel right. It was too easy. The amount of bodies down here, Will guessed there should've plenty of walkers.

Rick and Daryl rounded the next corner when Willow heard the moans. _Shit!_ She knew it was bound to happen.

"Go back!" Rick ordered. "Go back! This way!"

Glenn, Maggie, and Will brought up the rear. A group of walkers separated them.

"Shit," Will cursed. She went to turn down another hall when another group of walkers halted them.

"Go, go go," Glenn urged as the three of them. "In here!" They found a small room to hide in.

Will waited by the door until the last of the walkers shuffled by. She peaked out the door and gave Glenn and Maggie the all clear. They walked back down the hall.

"Maggie? Glenn? Will?" They heard a whisper calling out from down the hall. Will sighed in relief. The others were okay.

"Rick?" Glenn called back.

"Dad?" Maggie now.

When the scream came, Will, Maggie, and Glenn started running towards it. Will froze when she saw Hershel on the ground, a hunk of his leg missing. The blood dripping from the now very dead walker's mouth. He'd been bit.

"No! Daddy, no!" Maggie cried out in anguish. This of course drew the walkers back.

 _Shit!_

Glenn and Rick picked Hershel up off the ground. Maggie, Daryl and Will were at the front as the group sprinted through the halls. The walkers cut off their path. The group scrambled back, Hershel moaning in pain. Willow's eyes found a chained set of doors.

"Here!" Will told them. "T, pry it open."

T-Dog charged over and stuck his fire poker between the lock part and the metal bar and popped it open. Ironically, the prison had shitty locks. Will opened the doors. Rick, Hershel, and Glenn went in first. Will was the last, going in just as the walkers caught up. T-Dog helped her keep the door shut, locking it with his fire poker. Willow ran over to the others, just in time to see Rick taking off his belt and tying it a bit above the bite.

"Hold him down!" Rick ordered. Will felt as though she was about to vomit.

 _Shut it off. Shut it off. Shut it off._

Will held Hershel's shoulders down as Rick drove the axe in Hershel's leg. Hershel squirmed and cried out in pain, until he passed out that is. Seeing all that blood, it brought memories Will had long buried.

 _Push it away. Focus Willow. Shut it off!_

And so she did. She flicked that little switch off and went back to being that soldier.

"He's bleeding out," Rick said.

"Duck," Daryl whispered.

"Holy shit." Will looked up at the sound of an unknown voice. Standing behind a grate were five men.

 _Holy shit indeed._

* * *

After playing a few rounds of that red hands game with Beth, Eli started to pace around a bit. While they hadn't given an exact time they would be getting back but he figured it shouldn't be taking this long. None of the possible scenarios going through his head were going to end well.

Hannah and Carl were in Hannah's cell probably playing cards or something, he wasn't sure. What the hell could two kids do in a prison in the middle of the apocalypse? Not a whole lot. Carol was looking after Lori in her cell.

"Would you calm down? They're probably fine," Beth spoke up.

It definitely didn't quench his worry. Will was pretty much his only family. He cared about the group, he really did. Beth was probably his closest friend, Hershel a mentor, but Willow was his family. After everything they went through, how could they be anything but. Eli huffed and took a spot on the wall next to Beth.

Even though Eli appalled smoking, after having seen the affects of it on one of his classes, part of him wishes he did smoke, just so he could keep his hands busy. The run down jail cell reminded him of _The Great Escape_. All he needed was a tennis ball and he'd be Steve McQueen. He hated sitting around while Will went and did the dangerous stuff. He'd already lost Casey. He couldn't take losing Will too.

Beth started humming next to him, as though sensing his unease. He didn't recognize the song, but that didn't matter. One thing he realized about Beth, she tended to sing when she sensed others around her needed something to get their minds off of whatever they were dealing with. Sometimes, he caught her humming to herself when Maggie was off on a run. It was calming. He liked hearing her sing, it reminded him of better times.

Her humming was cut off by the cell block gate being unlocked.

"Open the door!" Rick's alarmed voice rang through. Eli and Beth shot up on their feet alarmingly. "It's Hershel!"

Eli felt the breath get sucked out of his chest. Carl ran up to the door, keys in hand. Everything sort of moved in slow motion. Rick, Maggie, and Glenn came in rolling Hershel on a rolling metal table. He could see the blood coming from his stump of a leg.

 _Oh my… fuck._ He didn't know how to react. He was completely frozen in place. All that blood…

 _E-Eli._

No. Stop it. Push it away. He's gone. Push it away.

The thing that snapped him back was Beth crying out to her father. Eli rushed into motion, urging Rick and Glenn to roll into the nearest cell.

"Get him on the bed! He got bit," Rick explained.

"How soon did you cut off the leg?" Lori asked.

"Oh my God, is he gonna turn?" Beth asked frantically.

"If they got it in time, no," Eli answered.

Eli looked down at the man who became his mentor and took a deep breath to organize his thoughts. He removed the makeshift bandage around the stumped leg. It wasn't a clean cut, but he could work with it. He needed to.

 _You are in way over your head._

He was, but Beth and Maggie needed their father. No one else was going to die. Not if he could help it.

 _Come on Eli. You can do this. You've watched procedures like this. You studied it. You know what to do._

But studying it and actually having to face it are two very different things. Amputation, first thing he needed to do was stop the bleeding. Keep the leg elevated.

"I need more bandages," he said, trying to sound a lot more confident than he felt.

"We've used up all we have," Glenn snapped.

"Then get me anything else! We'll use a fucking sleeping bag if we need to!" Eli yelled back.

"Carl, go get the extra towels from my bag," it was Lori who spoke now. He didn't know who was in the cell with him.

"Is he gonna die?" Beth asked. Not if Eli had any say in it.

"Can you stabilize him?" Rick asked. Eli swallowed the nervousness building in his stomach.

"I need to keep his leg elevated," he looked and saw Carol on her knees, ready to help. "Someone get me some pillows!"

Eli was using some of the sheets to try and slow down the bleeding, only Hershel had bled through them.

 _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I can't do this. I'm not a doctor. I was fucking pre-med. Not even in fucking med school._

Hershel taught him a lot, but not enough. No matter how many books he read, he wasn't ready for this.

"I can start a fire. Burn the wound, clot the blood," Glenn suggested. He hadn't realized people had bee talking. His hands were covered in Hershel's blood.

"No. If we do that, his body'll go into shock and that _will_ kill him," Eli retorted. "Only way we can do this is if we dress the wound and let it heal on its own."

Carl came back with the towels. He handed them to Eli, who changed the bloodied sheet for the towels.

"Carol, check his pulse," Eli ordered. The older woman did as he asked.

"Still got one," she told him. Okay, good. "You can do this."

"I can do this. I can do this." Maybe if he said it enough, he'd actually believe it.

"Hey man! This is my house, my rules, and I'll go where I damn well please!" Eli looked up at Rick at the unknown voice coming from outside the cell block.

"What was that?" Beth asked.

"Prisoners, survivors. It's alright. Everybody stay put," Rick assured before he pulled Glenn aside.

Eli kept applying pressure, praying to God that the blood would stop.

 _I can do this. I can do this._

* * *

Will stood with her machete ready to start swinging if she got the go ahead. Rick came out of the cell block, Hershel's blood staining his shirt. She sized up each of the prisoners. The only one who seemed threatening was the Latino guy with long hair. Willow's first inclination was to kill them all on site, but it wasn't like they really had the time, what with all the stuff with Hershel. They left her with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Who knows why they were in prison.

The Latino guy had the small pistol, that was previously in the waistband of his pants, pointed at them.

 _Oh please, give me a reason._ One move, and she would slice him. Maybe she was still that ruthless killer that beat six people to death. At least, that's who she might need to be right now.

"How many of you in there?" The guy asked, his pistol still pointed at Rick.

"Too many for you to handle," Rick answered threateningly.

"You guys rob a bank? Why not take him to a hospital?" He questioned.

"Hospital? How long you guys been locked up?" Will asked.

"Goin' on ten months now," he answered.

"Riot broke out," the big black guy in the back spoke up. "Never seen nothin' like it."

"Attica on speed man," the smaller white guy added.

"One guard looked out for us, locked us in the cafeteria and tossed his piece. Told us to sit tight," the Latino guy said.

"That was two hundred and ninety-two days ago," the big guy spoke again.

"Ninety-four judgin' by…" the whit guy started but the Latino cut him off.

"Shut up!"

"We've been thinkin' the National Guard would be showing any day now," the big black guy said.

"National Guard? You assholes have no idea, do you?" Will questioned.

"What's she talkin' about?" The other tall black guy asked.

"Don't you get it? There's no army, no hospitals, no government," she explained. "Ain't no one comin' to rescue your ass."

"What? My kids, my old lady… y'all got a cell phone we can use to call our families?" he asked.

"Are you stupid? There are no cell phones, or computers. It's the fuckin' apocalypse," Will snapped.

"As far as we can see, half the population's been wiped out. Probably more," Rick explained.

"Ain't no way."

"See for yourself," Rick said.

They led the group of prisoners outside. Will ignored their shocked expressions over the amount of dead bodies that littered the ground. She stood off to the side with Rick.

"I don't trust 'em," Willow whispered.

"I don't either, but unless we want five dead bodies on our hands…" Rick countered.

"If it comes down to it, we might have to. You know that."

Rick didn't say anything, he simply nodded. She knew that he understood. Rick wasn't about to slaughter them all. They needed to give him a reason. He wasn't like Willow. He was a leader. She knew she should probably be listening to the conversation, but Willow's thoughts kept drifting to other darker places. She needed to flick that switch back on, but the longer she kept it off, the harder it became to go back.

Maybe it was a sign that the shouldn't go back. Will knew she could keep her family safer if she didn't. It wouldn't be like it was after Oliver died, or after she lost Michonne and Andrea, this time she had people around.

 _Will, you're human. Act like it._

She took a deep breath and swallowed the growing emptiness in her stomach. She couldn't be that same person she was before meeting Eli and Casey, but she could never go back to how she was with Oliver. That Willow had long burned away. That monster she'd been, that person burnt away too. Which left Willow constantly questioning, who was she now?

"…catch so much as a whiff of your scent out here, I'll kill you," Rick's threat brought her out of her thoughts. She'd very clearly missed out on something. By the sound of it, the prisoners were staying.

On their way back inside, Will asked Daryl to give a quick lowdown of what happened –explaining that she was observing the situation but wasn't exactly listening to the 'who's got the bigger dick' contest going between the Latino prisoner and Rick. Instead, she stood in the back, the resting bitch-face apparent on her features. Apparently, they were going to help clear out a cell block for the prisoners.

 _This should end well,_ she thought to herself sarcastically. The one benefit from this, they were going to give the group half their food in exchange for help, at least they were getting something.

* * *

The bleeding had finally stopped, which was a plus in Eli's mind. Hershel's pulse was still weak and he hadn't opened his eyes, but the bleeding stopped. Beth and Maggie were out of the cell now, leaving him with Carol and Lori. Hannah and Carl were looking in from the other side of the bars.

"You're doing great," Carol assured. He wasn't doing much, just keeping the bleeding under control.

Eli cast a look at the very pregnant Lori, who was now going to check in on Beth and Maggie. He faced Carol.

"Lori's overdue," he noted.

"I know," Carol replied.

"If we get Hershel through this… he won't be able to perform a C-section if need be," Eli continued. "He taught you the steps, right?"

"Yeah, a few months ago. There are plenty of cadavers to practice on," Carol replied.

"Okay… Let's get through this, and then we'll figure it out," Eli told her.

* * *

Hannah couldn't move from the doorway of the cellblock where Hershel now lay. Eli was hard at work. She was impressed, she could never do something like that. Truth be told, medicine did always interest her. When her mother would talk about her time as a doctor, though she didn't do it often, her stories fascinated Hannah. She had always been good at Math and Science in school. It came easily to her. In Math, everything was laid out on paper. Once she got it, she didn't need anyone else. There was always only one answer. Science and Math, it was about finding the answer. She liked figuring things out. She didn't have to hear her teacher in those subjects.

Watching Eli work, she could see the fear and worry etching his eyes. He put on a brave face but Hannah saw through it. He was in over his head.

"If he gets through this…" Carol started. She was helping Eli as best as she could.

" _When_ he gets through this," Lori interrupted, who stood off to the side with Beth and Maggie.

"He's going to need crutches," she continued. Hannah couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Right now, I'd settle for some clean bandages, sterile gauze, antibiotics too," Eli chimed in.

"There's gotta be an infirmary around here," Carol added.

"And we'll find it," Glenn assured.

Hannah felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked over to see Carl. He pulled her away from the others.

' _What are you doing?'_ Hannah asked him once he let her go.

' _We should find the infirmary.'_

' _Seriously? What if something happens?'_ She asked. As much as Hannah wanted to go, she thought about the amount of walkers in the courtyard.

' _If we don't do it, then Hershel might die.'_ Carl persuaded her.

' _Remember the pit? What if that happens again?'_ Hannah reminded.

' _Do you trust me?'_

' _Yes.'_

' _Then trust me on this. No one else is going. We should go.'_

Hannah sighed but agreed. She knew Carl was going to go with or without her, she at least needed to make sure he didn't get himself hurt, or worst.

' _When do we go?'_ Hannah asked after a beat. They heard someone coming towards the cell block door. It was T-Dog and Rick carrying in bags of food. Hannah's stomach grumbled at the sight.

 _Whole lot better than dog food,_ she told herself.

"Hannah and I can organize it," Carl offered when T-Dog brought in the last of the food. They stashed it in a cell right next to Maggie and Glenn's. She knew he was covering up their tracks so it would be easy to sneak away later.

"Yeah, it's not like we have anything else to do," Hannah lied.

They pretended to organize the cans of food until the coast was clear. Hannah made a quick dash to her cell and grabbed her bow. She met back up with Carl as they quietly snuck away. The hall was darkened. Hannah held her flashlight with one hand under her bow illuminating the path. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but she'd grown used to it. Most morning when she would go hunting with Daryl, it was still dark out.

Hannah followed Carl closely as they treaded down another hall. She noticed how Carl marked every turn they took so they could find their way back.

"It can't be too far away," Carl whispered. "I saw the blueprints; the infirmary is close."

There was a moan coming from down the hall. The walker came out from around the corner. Both Hannah and Carl didn't hesitate. Hannah pulled the trigger of her bow, the bolt landed firmly in the walker's eye. Carl's bullet hit between the eyes. When they walked up, they saw that the walker wasn't wearing a prisoner or a guard uniform. It wore a pair of green colored scrubs. She flashed her light and saw the badge hanging off his pocket.

"He must've worked in the infirmary," she deduced, seeing the name of the prison on it. Carl marked the path again.

"It's gotta be down this way," he whispered.

The infirmary wasn't that far away from there. They killed the walker that was still in the infirmary and quickly began raiding it. There wasn't much left, but they picked it clean. All the bandages, she hoped that would help save Hershel's life. Hannah noticed a pair of crutches in the corner, Carol mentioned that Hershel would need them. However, she knew that she couldn't carry them back. Their way back might not be so smooth.

"Got everything?" Carl whispered. Hannah nodded and they went back down the hall. This time, they sprinted, knowing the clear path. Hannah led the way since she had her the bow. They didn't encounter any walkers on the way back, thankfully.

Carl opened the door to the cell block, Hannah shut the door behind them and locked it. They made it to Hershel's cell. The old man was still unconscious on the bed.

"Thought you were both organizing the food?" Glenn asked eyeing Carl's bag suspiciously.

"We did better than that," Carl announced proudly as he dropped the bag of medical supplies.

Eli and Carol each let out a cry of relief as they dug through and found bandages.

"Where did you get this?" Lori asked.

"We found the infirmary," Hannah explained somewhat proudly. "There wasn't much but we cleaned it out. Even found some crutches, but we couldn't carry them. We'll have to go back for them."

"You two went alone?" Lori asked. Eli and Carol were hard at work wrapping Hershel's stump.

"Yeah," Carl shrugged. Maggie and Lori gave them a look in disbelief.

"Are you insane?" She snapped. Whatever pride Hannah felt, it got sucked away.

"No big deal, there were only two walkers," Carl retorted.

"Okay… do you see this?" Lori gestured to Hershel's unconscious body. "This was with a whole _group._ "

"We needed supplies so we went and got them!" Carl exclaimed.

"I appreciate that, but…"

"Then get off my back!" Carl yelled angrily at his mom. Hannah was taken aback by the hostility in his voice.

"Carl!" Beth barked. "She's your mother. You can't talk to her that way."

"Look, I understand that you want to help…" Only Carl didn't let her finish before he ran away. Hannah stood awkwardly, eyes now turned to her. She looked down at her feet.

"I'll uh… I'll talk to him. We only wanted to help," she stated before walking away from the cell.

Hannah found Carl in his cell across the block from Hershel. He sat on his bunk, with his back up against the wall. Hannah took the spot next to him. She wasn't sure where to start. She knew that things had been bad between Lori and Carl, but she hated the way he talked to his mom. She figured if she stayed quiet long enough, he'd start talking.

"Sometimes she just… she really pisses me off," Carl spoke. Of course Hannah was right. She knew that kid better than anyone else.

"Mom's do that," Hannah shrugged.

"Part of me thinks… maybe it would've been better if she hadn't gotten off the farm."

This made Hannah stop cold.

"Don't say that. Don't _ever_ say that," she snapped. "Don't you know how lucky you are? I would give _anything_ to have my mom here. To have her yell at me like that."

"I know," he replied in a low voice.

"No, you don't," she said flatly. "If you had any idea what it's like, you wouldn't say that kind of stuff."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," he apologized. "I was just angry."

"I get it. I said a lot of stuff to my dad I didn't mean," Hannah explained. "I said things to my mom too."

She thought back to that night in Henessey and how angry she'd been over the years of lying. It was easier putting the blame all on one person. Looking back on it now, she wished she'd been a better daughter.

"You should tell her you're sorry," she told him. "Otherwise, you might regret it."

 **Hope you liked it! I should be updating soon and this story will have some deviations from canon soon that I am both terrified and excited about. Please let me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

_Oh my God._ That was the only thing Will could think about watching these prisoners royally screw up killing walkers. The minute she saw the shaky white guy, Axel, pull out a shiv from his sock, she couldn't stop herself from laughing slightly. It wasn't until Will strode up and sliced through one of the walker's skulls.

The Latino guy, Tomas, eyed her. She glared at him before turning to the rest of the prisoners. T-Dog, Rick, and Daryl had followed her lead and quickly dispatched of the walkers.

"Don't y'all listen? Gotta be the brain, nothin' else," Will scolded.

More walkers came down the hallway. The prisoners got back in formation. Daryl shot one of his arrows into the walker's head. The prisoners seemed to get the idea after that. Willow swung her machete and took out a walker that got too close.

"Will, on your left," Rick warned. Will didn't even need to look as she took out another walker.

A scream came from behind a wall. Will ran over. She saw Big Tiny standing there a walker stumbled back behind him. Tomas, the Latino guy, pushed past her and took out his pistol and shot the walker three times. The loud noise in the small space made her ears ring.

Big Tiny turned towards them. His giant hand went and felt his shoulder blade. The blood on his hand reveled the harsh truth. Big Tiny got infected. Will's grip on her machete tightened.

"Rick…" She called for him. Rick looked at her and gave her a curt nod. There was no way they could save him. It was a shame, really, out of the prisoners, Big Tiny was the one of the two she didn't totally dislike.

The rest of their group piled into the small area. Big Tiny's eyes wide with fear. They composed after a moment. A new emotion replaced it, denial.

"I can keep fighting," he insisted. "I'm not becoming one of them. It's just a scratch!"

"I'm sorry, man…" Rick apologized.

"You hacked off that old guy's leg," the little one, Andrew, spoke up.

"We can't hack off the man's shoulder," Rick explained harshly. "Either way, he's dead!"

"Guys! I'm fine… Look at me. I'm not changing into one of those things," he begged.

Denial was truly a cruel thing. Will knew that if she ever got bit in a place she couldn't hack off; she'd pull the damn trigger herself. She wouldn't lie to herself and think there's another way.

"There has to be something we can do," Oscar, the second prisoner she could tolerate, declared.

"Quarantine him," Axel suggested.

"You gotta save him! Why are you just standin' there?" Andrew insisted.

They were getting on Will's last nerve.

" _No… please. Not you."_

" _You promised."_

"You don't get it, none of you do!" Will snapped. "You haven't seen what _that_ mark does to people! I'm sorry, but there's nothin' we can do. Your friend is a dead man!"

"You bitch!" Andrew swore at her.

"I'm…"

Big Tiny never got to finish his sentence as he dropped to the ground, Thomas standing behind him with his hammer. He looked at the hammer, as though he was surprised how easy it was to knock Big Tiny out. He then proceeded to smash it a few more times in Big Tiny's head. Brains and blood splattered on the ground and the walls. When he looked back up, Will saw something in his face that horrified her. She saw glee. Thomas walked away. Willow cast another look at Big Tiny's corpse.

Thomas was a danger to them, that much was clear. He was the one that tried to get the group to leave the prison, even though they were the ones that cleared it. He was a problem. Will wasn't about to let some asshole hurt her family, even if it meant killing someone else.

* * *

These bandages we're a freaking gift. Eli finished wrapping Hershel's stump and sighed. He did what he could. The bleeding stopped, and now thanks to Hannah and Carl, they had clean bandages and antibiotics. He understood where Lori was coming from when she yelled at Carl earlier, it was a stupid reckless thing, but they needed this supplies. Carl and Hannah may have just saved Hershel's life.

If this were a year ago, and Eli was still in school, he would've jumped at the chance to even just watch a doctor conduct a procedure like this. Eli wanted to be a surgeon. He was set on that since he was a kid. Now, he wished he never had to do it. He was glad he knew this sort of stuff, but it sucked to actually have to do it. He'd learnt that there were very few decent people left in the world.

Carol had gone with Glenn. He knew she was going to practice on a cadaver outside just in case they needed to do a C-section on Lori. Eli opted to stay with Hershel, along with Lori, Maggie and Beth. Or, well, he thought Lori and Maggie were in the cell. When he looked beside him, Beth was kneeling, holding her dad's free hand. Eli's eyes drifted over to his mentor's handcuffed hand. He knew that it had to be done. Still, he hated seeing Beth's eyes when she saw her father. He needed to talk to her, make sure she was okay. He thought about what he could tell her, maybe try and make her laugh. He could only think of science jokes, until he remembered a Sunday School story.

"When I was a kid I heard this story," he started. Beth was still looking at her father. "This guy gets in a ship wreck and is left stranded in the ocean. He looked up at the sky and asked God to save him. A boat then comes by and a crewmember notices the man."

Beth was still looking at her father, but Eli could tell she was listening, so he kept talking. "So he goes to the side of the boat and asks: 'Do you need help?' and the man replied 'No, God will save me'. So the boat leaves him behind. A little while later, still stranded in the ocean, another boat comes by. Another crew member asks: 'Do you need help?' and the man replied: 'No, God will save me'. So the boat went on it's way leaving the guy in the water.

"The man is struggling now. He nearly drowned a few times, but always managed to pull himself above water. A third boat comes along and they ask the same question 'Do you need help?', and the man goes 'No, God will save me'. So, like the other two, the boat leaves him behind. Eventually, he can't keep fighting so he slips under the water and drowned.

"When he finally gets up to Heaven, he's pissed off. He comes face to face with God and asks: 'Why didn't you help me? Why didn't you save me?'. Then God says: 'What do you mean? I sent you _three_ boats'."

"Why are you tellin' me this?" Beth asked. Eli hesitated for a moment.

"I guess… what the story was trying to say is that God always listens, even when it might not seem like it. Just because it isn't a direct divine intervention doesn't mean God isn't helping," he explained.

"So what? You're the ship?" Beth questioned sarcastically.

 _Oh my God, you sounded like an idiot._ He should've just told a joke. "I always thought the story was funny. I thought it was ridiculous that this guy would actually refuse help because he thought God was going to descend from the Heavens and pluck him out of the shit he was in."

Beth gave him a weird look.

"I guess maybe that's why I told you the story," he shrugged. She kept giving him a questioning look. "Because it's funny to me. I thought maybe it would help distract you from the crap we're in."

She didn't say anything.

"I'm gonna stop talking now," he declared.

Eli was always pretty awkward. He was never the popular kid in school, that was Casey. Eli preferred to keep to himself, studying hard because he wanted a better life for his family. His mom worked so ridiculously hard for him and his brother, he wanted to be able to provide for her too. She came to the States from Puerto Rico with pretty much only the clothes on her back. She was the only one of her family to come. Maybe that's why she fell in love so fast with Eli and Casey's asshole father. He was some burn out bartender from Boston that moved to Illinois after his parents stopped giving him money. His mother tried to explain what she saw in him, but Eli didn't understand. It certainly didn't help that after he left, Eli hated his father.

His first week at Notre-Dame had been a difficult one. He'd never been away from home for the long. It wasn't until he went to an orientation party on his floor three days in that he started actually talking to people. It was Kevin he met first. _Poor Kevin._ He was a nice guy, didn't deserve what he got. Kevin then introduced him to a few people. Lauren happened to be one of them. She quickly became his best friend. They talked all the time, calmed each other when school got too stressful. She'd been his rock for so long, it was no wonder that one night, probably about a year ago now, they became more than friends. Eli loved her more than he'd ever loved another girl.

It took him until Junior Year to realize that he loved her. It was small, subtle. It crept on him like a tumor would. _Shitty analogy, Eli._ But he knew, and part of him thought maybe he always knew that there was no one else he ever wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He'd gotten his great love, and then he'd lost it.

"Can I… Can I get a few minutes alone?" Beth requested.

"Yeah… yeah… of course," he nodded. "I'll uh… I'll be outside."

Beth gave him a grateful smile. Eli stepped outside the cell and took a deep breath. He leaned up against the wall. Eli lately often thought about death. It was hard not to when he was constantly surrounded by it. It was weird, death, one moment a person is there breathing, laughing, living. The next… they were just gone.

It struck him one day after Kevin died. He remembered thinking he heard Kevin's infectious laugh, and for a few moments he'd forgotten that his friend was dead. That he was shot in the head in front of him. A few months later, not long after Lauren died, he used to forget she was dead, he'd have these lifelike dreams where everything would be okay. Every morning he'd wake up and forget that she was torn apart. Then he'd remember, and it was losing her all over again.

Death and grief were strange things. He supposed it effects everyone differently. Or even just the impact of the person dying. After Casey… he just fell into a pit of darkness and despair that almost consumed him hole. No, not almost, entirely. The only thing that's managing to keep him afloat now were the people in this group.

Eli took another deep breath and composed himself. Not a day goes by where he doesn't think about his brother, or the love of his life, or his friends. He needed to stop thinking about the past, about the things he couldn't change. It certainly didn't help that this morning when he changed into his other pair of pants –the pair that still had a rip in them from when he caught his leg on the fence – when the only picture he had left of Lauren came tumbling out of his pocket. He thought he'd lost it. It was the only thing he had left of her.

* * *

Will couldn't get the homicidal look on Thomas's face out of her head. She was at the back of the group along with Rick and Daryl.

"You saw it right? The look on his face?" Daryl asked.

"He liked it… The killin'," Will added.

"He makes one move," Rick told both of them.

"Just say the word," Daryl stated.

They continued down the long hallway until they reached a room with a set of double doors. Will stood off to the side next to T-Dog. She couldn't help but think about the others. With Hershel now missing a limb, and Lori's baby, the group was vulnerable. Having these guys in the cell block next to them didn't sit right. Especially with Thomas.

Daryl handed Thomas the keys. He protested at first, but Rick had on his big boss man voice and explained that they were the ones that wanted this particular cell block. The amount of testosterone between these two men was a bit ridiculous. Will poised herself, ready to attack the walkers as Thomas unlocked the double doors. He started pulling, but the door was stuck. Will could hear the moans coming from the other side of the door.

"I got this," Thomas assured. He pulled and opened both doors.

 _ASSHOLE!_ Will mentally screamed as the walkers came pouring in.

"I said one door!" Rick barked.

"Shit happens!" Thomas replied harshly.

Will swung her machete and sliced through a walker. The blood and brain matter splattered on her clothes. At this point, her clothes were more walker blood than fabric. It wasn't like they could do very much laundry while being on the run.

She killed two more walkers, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Thomas push a walker onto Rick. _Son of a bitch!_ She darted over, taking out another walker before putting her machete through Rick's walker. She pulled it off her friend and tossed the corpse aside.

"You good?" Will asked when she helped him up. Rick gave a curt nod. Will took out the last walker. Rick strode forward, getting right in Thomas's face.

"He was comin' at me," Thomas defended himself. Willow scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it… shit happens," Rick said in a dangerously low voice.

There was a pause where nobody moved or breathed. It was as if they all waited for Rick to pass judgment… and boy did he. Will didn't flinch or blink as Rick slashed his machete in Thomas's head. There was screaming around her. She paid no mind to it. She watched as the blood dripped down his face before Thomas slumped to the ground. It alarmed her that the first thing she thought was 'good riddance'. What the hell was she?

Her attention was drawn back towards the others as Andrew attempted to attack Rick with a baseball bat, but before he could, Rick kicked him. Will snapped and had her machete at the ready giving Andrew a threatening glare.

"Easy now," Daryl said, his crossbow pointed at him. Andrew then took off running through the now open doors. Rick ran after him leaving Will, Daryl, and T-Dog alone with Axel and Oscar.

"Get down on your knees," Daryl ordered Oscar. T-Dog had his gun pointed at Axel's head. Daryl kept his bow pointed at Oscar. Will stood between both men, poised to kill if they moved.

"We don't have no affiliation with what just happened," Axel blubbered. "Tell 'em Oscar!"

"Stop talking man," Oscar advised.

Things went South, just like they always do. It was more of a surprise when things actually would go right. This life, Will felt as though she was in constant battle. She was a soldier again. Will had never been the leading type. Instead, she followed commands. She may as well be an attack dog. Given what she did to those six people back at Mick's camp only confirmed what she was.

Rick returned a few minutes, alone. He pointed his gun right at Oscar's head. Daryl had put his crossbow away and now had his knife pressed to Oscar's throat. Will had moved so she was standing behind Axel, her machete poised ready to slice his throat if Rick told her to.

"We didn't have anything to do with that," Oscar protested.

"Bullshit!" Rick yelled. "You knew!"

"Sir, please listen to me!" Axel begged. "It was them that was bad, not us."

"Really? How damn convenient," Rick said sarcastically.

"You saw what he did to Tiny," Axel blubbered, "he was my friend. Please, we ain't like them! I like my pharmaceuticals, but I'm not a killer. Oscar's a B&E 'n not a very good one! We ain't the violent kind, they were! I swear to God. Please… I wanna live!"

Willow looked up from the cowering man and at Rick. He turned away and pointed his gun at Oscar.

"And you?"

"I ain't never pleaded for my life, and I ain't about to start now. So you do what you've gotta do," Oscar replied bravely. He and Rick started each other down until Rick yielded. He nodded at both Will and Daryl that meant 'step back'. She reluctantly dropped the machete from Axel's throat and stepped back.

"Get up," he ordered the men.

Axel shakily got up off the ground.

"Our deal stands. If you _ever_ cross us, we will kill you," Rick warned.

"Understood," Oscar agreed.

Will had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't trust new people. The people she kept close, she chose to keep close. These guys, she didn't know them. While she didn't believe they were entirely bad people, she still had a hard time seeing past the prison jumpsuits. She had family to look out for. But, whatever Rick says goes. He's the leader.

They walked the prisoners down to cell block D. The smell of rotting bodies didn't bother her much. She'd grown used to it. The floors in Cell Block D were littered with corpses.

"Oh man, I knew these guys. They were good men," Axel spoke, the blood having drained from his face.

"Let's go," Rick ordered Will, Daryl, and T-Dog.

"You're just gonna leave us here?" Oscar protested. "Man, this is sick!"

"We locked down the cell block. This part of the prison is yours," Rick told them. "That's the deal."

Rick then turned and walked away. "You think _this_ is sick? You don't wanna know what's out there," Daryl told them.

"Think about it, you could be one of those guys. Be grateful some dumbass guard took pity on your little lives and locked you away," Will said coldly.

"What she means is… sorry 'bout your friends," Daryl told them.

Who would've thought that out of the two of them, Daryl would be the polite one? Fuck, she was more screwed up than she thought.

Will followed Daryl out of the cell block. It terrified her to think of what she would do to protect the ones she cared about. She was a survivor; she knew how to excel at it. She was a protector, or at least, she was working on it. After Casey's death and over the last two months, Will often times found herself thinking about him and how she'd failed. Maybe if she'd been colder, more willing to do what it takes, maybe he'd be alive right now. If she'd taken a different, longer route…

"What the hell was that?" Daryl whispered to her as the other two walked ahead.

"What was what?" Will asked.

"You _wanted_ to kill that guy," he answered. "Don't lie 'cuz I saw it in your face."

"Yeah, okay, I wanted to kill him," she finally told him. "Wanna know why? Cause I don't trust 'em. I ain't makin' the same mistakes Charlotte did. I'm not my sister."

"No," he said, "ya ain't. But you ain't a killer neither."

 _If only he knew_. Even before Mick, hell, even before the world broke, she'd killed people. She'd killed people in the war, and people would always tell her not to fret about the lives she took, because it was for a good cause. _Bullshit_. She'd killed at least six people and wounded countless others in wartime. She did it because it was her duty to her country. Now she did it because it was her duty to survive and to help her family survive.

How fucked up was that?

* * *

Eventually Hannah and Carl left his cell, once his anger had subsided, and they went back to the others.

"Somebody help! Somebody, please!" Beth's scream echoed through the quiet cell block.

Both Hannah and Carl sprinted towards the cell. Eli pushed past them and ran in. Hannah stopped dead in her tracks at Hershel's pale unmoving body. He'd stopped breathing. Hannah's eyes darted over to Eli who looked paralyzed. His eyes were wide, frozen. She could see the colour drain from his face. He was afraid.

"Do something!" Beth begged. Lori swooped in and pushed past Hannah and Carl, and then past Maggie, Beth, and Eli.

She didn't hesitate before starting CPR. She pressed on his chest. Hannah watched intently, praying to God that he would be alright. Lori tilted Hershel's head back and opened his mouth. For a second, it looked as though she was kissing him, but she knew how CPR worked. Her mom taught her a couple of years ago. Lori breathed air into Hershel's mouth before starting compressions again.

When she went down the second time, Hershel lunged, one arm seemingly pulling Lori in. Hannah's eyes went wide as she raised her bow, ready to shoot. There was frantic screaming around her as Beth, Maggie, and Eli pulled Lori away. Hannah was relieved to see Lori unharmed. Hershel's head fell back to the pillow with a snore. No moan, no chomping of the teeth, he was alive. Hannah's heart was pounding and her hands shaking as she lowered her bow. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek.

 _I'm sorry._

She stepped back, suddenly being unable to breath. Hannah ran off to her cell. She needed to breathe.

 _Please don't leave me._

Hannah felt dizzy by the time she got to her cell. She squeezed her locket and took deep breaths. She was over this. She was past it. They had the funeral, she was supposed to be fine. But she could feel it again, the panic. The memories coming flooding back.

 _Breathe Hannah._

"Hannah?" Her head snapped up to see standing in the entrance way of her cell. "Are you okay? You just kind of vanished."

"I…I…" She couldn't say anything. She was being stupid. Still, it felt like a ton of bricks were sitting on her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

Carl seemed to catch on to what was happening and took the spot next to her. It was like in the pit, when she started freaking out and her shoulder hurt. Carl knew how to keep her calm then.

"It's okay… Hey, did you hear about the two guys that stole a calendar?" Carl asked. Hannah gave him an odd look and shook her head. "They each got six months."

Hannah gave him a look that meant 'seriously'.

"Get it? Because they stole a calendar which means they each get half, so six months… it's a prison joke, because you know, we live in one," he explained.

Hannah couldn't keep herself from letting out a small –albeit slightly pitying – laugh.

' _You're a dork,'_ she signed.

"But it made you feel better, right?" He questioned.

"Yeah, it did," she said. It helped calm her anxieties a little, but there was a lingering panic. At this point, Hannah didn't know what she'd do if she didn't have Carl. "Thank you."

"I've always got your back," he told her.

"And I've got yours. We look out for each other, right?"

"Duh."

Hannah smiled once more, forever grateful that she had him in her life.

* * *

Eli had frozen. When he walked into that cell and saw that Hershel wasn't breathing, it was like he was split in two. The part of him that wanted to save Hershel was over taken by the part of him that wanted to live. If Hershel had died and turned while Eli was helping him, he'd die. It was weird seeing as not that long ago all he wanted for this to be over. So he'd frozen, and Lori swooped in and saved his life. He'd let the pregnant woman risk her life so he wouldn't die.

He retreated back to his cell. He sat on his bunk and pulled the picture out from his pocket. It was a simple enough picture, they were at a party where someone was going around with a polaroid camera and taking pictures. Eli had his arms wrapped around Lauren's shoulders, hugging her from behind. He'd lowered his head so it was in the crook of her neck. Someone must've said something funny because Lauren looked like she was about to start laughing. She read easily. She wasn't afraid to express herself. Eli smiled at the picture.

 _You'd be ashamed of me, Lauren,_ he thought. _I let Casey die. I couldn't save him. I let you die. It should've been me that day, not you. And now… I let a pregnant woman risk her life to save a man because I got scared._

Her brown eyes looked up at him. Lauren deserved better than what she got. She was a leader, always had been. She had these big dreams of becoming the first ever Asian American/Female President. _We've got a black President now, who says an Asian won't be elected in the future?_ She would always say that.

Eli never heard the others come in.

"Hey, Beth said you were in here," Glenn's voice caught his attention. "I thought maybe someone should check…" His eyes darted to the picture in Eli's hands. Eli saw the shift from concern to rage. "Where did you get that?!"

"W-What?" Eli stuttered.

"WHY DO YOU HAVE A PICTURE OF MY SISTER?"

 **Hope you liked it! Review please!**


End file.
